Unexpected Abuse
by Nimrod The Writer
Summary: Danny's home life turns worse for the wear when Maddie goes off to Germany to train aspiring ghost hunters. If you think Vlad is crazy-obsessive without Maddie, wait until you see Jack.
1. Chapter 1

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm do'in a Jack-Danny abuse fic. What-eva. It called to me.

(Ha. I've actually been messing around with this pointless thing _waaay _more than my Frozen Christmas sequel.)

ALLLLrighty then. Just to forewarn you all, I haven't really checked over any of this for grammar mistakes and such because frankly, I just don't care. This is just a little thing I play with when I'm bored and I figured I'd plague FanFiction with it cause I'm a jerk like that.

And sadly, no DannyXVlad...T_T Although I am gonna give the whole "father-son" thing a shot. Weird, I know.

* * *

Things...have been a little weird since Mom left.

She's coming back of course, in about four months, but she is coming back. A fancy cooperation or school or something had mailed her about spending five months in Germany to teach aspiring ghost hunters. She had immediately turned it down, since Jack was unable to come due to A: it was an all female school, and B: he wasn't a very good ghost hunter.

The little brochure was sticking out of the trash can that day when Dad pulled it out swiftly. I remember watching him scan the small print with growing fascination, looking elated.

"Maddie-cakes, this is perfect!" he jumped in the air.

"What's perfect, dear?" she walked in the kitchen with an apron on and a spatula in her hands. I had quickly grabbed a bowl of cereal because only Dad has the ability to stomach her, literally, monstrous cooking.

"This German Ghost Hunters Academy for Girls!" he waved the brochure in her face.

"Oh that silly old thing? It's an all girls school sweetie, you wouldn't be able to come. Besides, it's five months long! I couldn't be away from my precious babies for five months!" she laughed, the idea absurd to her, and took out a large pan.

"But they'll fund all our ghost projects for ten years! And they'll pay your way over!" Dad was grinning from ear to ear.

"Jack." she looked stern, turning around and pointing the spatula at him, "I know money's tight, but I don't need to leave my family to make ends meet."

"It's not about that baby. You'll get to spread the Fenton name all the way to Germany! All those girls would be perfect under your master training! And while your raising up the army, I'll hold the house down here!" he whipped out an ecto gun and shot it haphazardly, the blast annihilating my cereal.

"Uh, Jack dear..." Mom looked double unsure now.

"You could tell us all about your adventures across the ocean, and get all kinds of new ideas for ghost weapons, and help the world become better protected from ghosts, and-"

Here he had started getting disgustingly cheesy and Mom was giving him a nauseatingly gushy look, so I ignored them and brushed soot from my backpack, heading out the door to school. I was just stepping outside when I heard mom say,

"I'll think about it, dear."

Two days later, they sat me down and told me Mom was going to Germany for five months.

At first I hadn't cared. I mean, I was gonna miss her, yeah, but I thought things might actually be easier without her constant scrutinizing. The house was a little lonely with Jazz off at her first year of college, though (Princeton, no less). I had enjoyed the prospect of not having the second set of disapproving parental glares (my grades weren't as shining as Jazz's) and the smaller chance that Mom would figure out my secret. You can't pry into your sons life when your an entire continent away. But after two straight weeks of no Mom, Dad started getting really grumpy.

He'd frown and glare a lot, slamming things more than usual. Not realizing his own strength he'd break most of them. "Danny! Pick that up!" he'd bark. He lost a lot of his usual happy, bubbly moods, turning it darker and blacker. It was like Mom was his sun and without her he was a constant scrooge.

It got so bad that I didn't even want to be in the same room with him. Him! My own father! At breakfast he'd always talk about how perfect Mom's cooking was and how the house was so much nicer with her around. I felt a little resentful at that comment. Was I not good enough?

Apparently not, because he started getting on my case about chores. He was to lazy to do most of them, and I had to cover Mom and Jazz's stuff on top of my own. Coupled with fighting ghosts and struggling not to fail out of my first semester of sophomore year, you can guess I was having a bit of trouble.

"Danny! This room is a mess! I told you to clean it an hour ago!" Dad yelled angrily, coming up from the lab and surveying the moderately messy living room.

"I'm trying to get my homework done." And for once it was true. No ghosts were out and I was trying to catch up. He was always telling me how grades are the most important thing, after ghosts of course.

His frown had deepened, looking from my open math book to the living room.

"Jazz would have gotten it done." he grumbled loudly, turning and trudging back down to the lab.

That comment had kinda hurt, especially coming from him. I'd never heard him say a mean thing in my life (except to ghosts) and here he was telling me that Jazz was better. I guess, technically it was true, she did get into Princeton after all, but hearing it from your own father was different. More concrete somehow. That's when I began to realize I was a disappointment to him.

Then, a week ago, he grounded me from all house phones, taking my cell phone away too. This was really bad because I had no way to contact Sam and Tucker during ghost fights now.

"If you can't keep up with chores and homework then you can't handle the responsibility of a phone." he told me coldly.

At first, I had been furious. Responsibility? I'd screamed in my head. I take care of this entire city every day and your trying to lecture me about not being able to handle a _cell phone_?

After I cooled off I just got on my computer and messaged Sam and Tucker about it. Their sympathies were up lifting, and I got over it quickly. After all, it wasn't like Dad knew I was fighting ghosts for him everyday.

He got moodier and moodier, and I took every chance I had to get out of the house (it wasn't that difficult really). So, currently, I'm at Sam's house, confiding my feeling to my two best friends.

"Mom's been gone for a month and it's Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde over there." I jerked a thumb in the direction of my house out Sam's window.

"Your Dad just misses her. I'm sure he'll be back to his old self once he gets used to not having her around." Tucker tried to console me, but I was still worried.

"But he's been getting worse and worse."

"I'm tell'in ya dude, it'll all blow over soon. You just gotta wait it out." Tucker shrugged. Sam looked unconvinced.

"I dunno Tuck. I think your giving parents too much credit. Maybe you should try talking to your Dad about it. Maybe he doesn't realize he'd being so grumpy and rude."

"Yeah. Maybe." I bit my knuckles nervously, not relishing the idea of talking about that to him. Would he get mad?

"How long you grounded for anyway?" Tucker asked.

I shrugged.

"I don't know, he wouldn't tell me. When I kept asking he told me I'd get them back when I learned to shut my mouth."

"Your _dad _said that to you?" Tucker said incredulously.

"But that's so unlike him. He'd like a giant teddy bear." Sam shook her head.

"Well, he did burn his breakfast that morning, so he was grumpier than usual. It was probably just his anger talking. Besides, tons of parents tell their kids to shut up, right?"

"Mine don't." Tucker muttered.

Sam had gotten a warning look during my comment.

"Danny, don't go making excuses for his behavior. Even if he is in a bad mood, he shouldn't take his anger out on you."

"Yeah, I know." I sighed reluctantly. Suddenly Sam's alarm clock beeped once and my eyes snapped to the flashing red numbers.

"Crap! It's ten o' clock! Dad's gonna be pissed!" I jumped up, so not looking forward to getting chewed out again. My Dad can yell pretty loud when he wants to.

"Be careful!" Sam called out as I zoomed through the window, wind screaming past my ears.

I didn't have time to call back to her. I flew as fast as I could, hoping I could sneak into my room and pretend I'd been their all along. But as I approached Fenton Works, the Op-center looking like a fat spider against the night sky, I saw the living room light on, my Dad's large form sitting expectantly on the couch.

"Crap." I muttered, falling behind a building and transforming back into my human self.

I sprinted across the street, seeing my Dad's bulk cross over the window to the door. I bounded up the steps and grabbed hold of the knob, twisting it and pushing it open.

Well I tried too. The door was locked. I jiggled it a bit, waiting for Dad to unlock it. When he didn't I leaned over, looking through the window.

"Dad, the doors locked." I called through the glass, scanning the room for him, but I didn't see him.

It was only till I looked to the steps that I saw him slowly ascending them, not looking back and obviously going to bed.

"Dad!" I called, trying to get his attention by knocking on the windows. His answer shocked me; I could hear it clear as day through the thin glass.

"Your curfew is ten o' clock Danny. Maybe now you won't be late anymore." he continued on up the steps, not looking back at me and turning the corner to his room.

The shock reverberated through me. Did he just lock me out of the house because I was five minutes past curfew? I jumped back to the door again, grasping the knob and shaking it. When it denied me entry, I tried banging on the door. Either Dad didn't hear me or he ignored me because no matter how many times I knocked, I didn't see a hint of his large form from around the corner.

As it slowly dawned on me that I was going to be sleeping on the sidewalk because Dad wouldn't let me in, an odd sense of betrayal seeped through me. I backed away from the door, blinking and trying not to believe it. I turned around and sat on the cold step, the chilly night wind scraping past my arms.

This was a problem easily solved. All I had to do was go ghost and fly up to my room. The only problem was explaining to my Dad how I managed to get to the second floor of the house with the door locked.

I went around and tried all the windows I could reach in my human form. Every single one of them was locked. So I turned ghost and flew up to the second story windows, seeing which ones were unlocked so I could start making up a fancy story of how I got through it. But they were all locked too, which was shocking because I always left my window unlocked in case I need to jump out and fight a ghost.

As I settled down on the steps and changed back to human, I tried to push away the idea that Dad had gone around and locked all the windows so I wouldn't be able to get in. He wouldn't do that, would he?

Frowning, and feeling very rejected, I sat back down on the steps and hugged my arms to myself, the silence of the night pressing in more than ever. I debated going to Sam or Tucker's house, but I didn't want them to freak out. What would they say if they knew Dad kicked me out?

I sighed heavily, putting my head in my arms. Lancer was gonna kill me tomorrow. All my homework was up in my room, uncompleted of course. I hoped Dad would let me get it in the morning. I tried all the windows once more, just in case, and landed back on the steps, laying down on them with a numb sense of disbelief still lingering in my stomach.

The concrete was hard and cold, just like Dad's new personality. I laid my head in my arms, shivering, and tried to get some sleep. It took a very long time to finally slip off into darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

The chapter lenghths are all wonky because I don't care enough to match them up.

* * *

"Wow dude, your later than usual." Tucker commented as I hastily took my seat, already having received a detention from Lancer. Soon to be a double when he found out I didn't do my homework.

"Um...Dad woke me up late." I couldn't look him in the eye, instead focusing on the textbook in front of me.

My whole body was sore and achy from sleeping on the steps outside, but it was nothing compared to usual ghost fights, so I easily ignored it. Dad actually did wake me up late, gruffly and groggily telling me to get a move on or I'd be late for school. When I noticed I was already ten minutes late, I ran upstairs and shoved my homework in my backpack, rushing out the door and forgetting about breakfast. My stomach suddenly rumbled loudly.

"Did you get breakfast?" Sam asked, snickering a bit at my whining stomach.

"And deal with the town grump? No thanks." I scowled, remembering I'd been too busy ghost fighting last night to get dinner as well.

Lancer yelled for us to get out our homework and I winced, sitting still as usual. He got closer to my desk and I heard his exasperated sigh when he marked a zero next to my name yet again.

"Make that an hour detention after school, Mr. Fenton."

"Yes Mr. Lancer." I dropped my head to my desk, feeling small at the disappointment in his voice.

Sam raised an eye brow at me once Lancer was gone.

"I thought you got home at ten? Did your Dad ground you from homework too?" she joked.

"No." I answered finitely and was spared the rest of her questions as Lancer took the stage started babbling about English stuff.

I caught Sam's frown, and I knew she'd pursue the subject again at lunch. I put my head in my propped up arm moodily, looking away from her stares. I tried to focus on the lesson, hoping I could get my grade up before report card came out in a week and a half. I had a bad feeling Dad would do more than yell when he found out I had a D in three classes.

After more time than I care to count, the English lecture ended and Lancer assigned two more chapters in the book I hadn't even opened yet. Rubbing my sore neck absentmindedly, I leaned back in my chair and took advantage of the two minutes I had till the bell rang. The book cracked when I opened it, it's pure white pages full of small print. I'd barely gotten into the first paragraph when the bell rang and I had to shove all the books in my bag and trudge down to History with Sam and Tucker.

"You okay dude? You seem a little upset." Tucker asked, falling into step next to me.

I had an instant internal struggle. I wanted to tell them about last night, but I was nervous as to how they'd react. Honestly, I was really upset with what Dad had done last night. Maybe I wouldn't be so depressed if I told them, after all they are my friends, so even if they do freak out it wouldn't be anything bad.

"Actually guys-"

"Hey Fentina!"

Great. Dash.

I stopped in the hallway, turning around to glare angrily at him, feeling my blue mood turn red.

"Leave me alone, Dash." I demanded, my voice coming out colder than I had anticipated.

"Looks like Fenton grew a back bone! Gonna try and stand up to me?" he grinned down smugly at me, getting in my face and acting like he was actually a threat. It would be so easy to just-

"Danny." Sam said quietly, placing her hand over my clenched fist.

I grit my teeth, mentally taking a deep breathe and dropping my glare, instead glowering at the floor. It wouldn't be a good thing to throw Dash through the second story window.

"That's what I thought." he stood up straight again, crossing his arms and grinning self righteously.

With effort, I controlled my temper. Even when Dash grabbed my books and hurled them down the hall I managed to hold back. He left, laughing loudly with his stupid friends as he turned the corner.

"See ya' later Fentoad!" he guffawed.

I glared angrily at the corner he disappeared around for a moment more, then feeling myself deflate I bent down to pick up the strewn papers. Sam's hand rested on mine as I grabbed a math sheet and Tucker held out my science book. I smiled wanly at them.

"Thanks guys." I said quietly.

We finished picking the books up, the bell ringing loudly above us. We were late anyways, so we strolled down the hall to class.

"What were you saying before Danny?" Sam asked.

"I'll tell you at lunch." I promised, pushing open the classroom door and receiving the teachers irritated glare, something I often got.

The classes pasted slowly, my spot by the window tempting my concentration often. _Finally_, after one more class, the bell rang for lunch. In not time at all we were situated around our usual table, the cafeteria doors shut tight against the howling wind, little splatters of rain dotting the windows around the large room.

"So, whats up?"

I told them about Dad locking me out and making me sleep on the steps because I was late, their faces growing more and more horrified with each passing moment.

"He _what_!"

"Jeez, Sam, not so loud." I hushed, looking nervously around.

"Okay, Dude, that's bad sign. Parents don't lock their kids out of the house cause their five minutes past curfew." Tucker crossed his arms, looking concerned.

"What happened to 'it'll blow over'?" I asked, smirking sardonically at him.

Sam but in before he could reply.

"This is serious Danny! That could be filled under abuse."

I stared at her, unable to help it when I burst out laughing. Her worried face turned into a frown at my reaction, but I couldn't stop myself.

"My dad? Abusive?" I chuckled, "Come on Sam, he just locked me out of the house. It's not like he punched me or anything." I shook my head, a grin still on my face.

Sam still looked unconvinced.

"You better watch out Danny. Abuse doesn't happen overnight. There are signs, and from what your telling us your Dad's heading down that path right now." Her expression softened, concern in her eyes.

"Guys. He's not gonna hurt me. Come on." I smiled, but it didn't reach my eyes.

He wouldn't hurt me, right?

...Na', no way.

I sipped on my milk, looking up at the sky, confident that Sam was wrong. They shared a glance, but I ignored it, poking the slightly wilted salad on my tray. I was just about to break the weird silence when someone beat me to it. Blue mist escaped from my mouth and I groaned, rolling my eyes and standing up.

"I'll be back in a second guys." I mumbled, scanning the cloudy skies as I dashed into the empty cafeteria kitchen.

No sooner than after I hid myself did a giant green scorpion appear, it's sharpened pincher's busting through the wall. People immediately started screaming and I had to duck under a garbage can to make sure no one would see me. I wasted no time in splitting the rings of white, feeling the rush of cold as Phantom took my once human appearance.

Smirking at the coming rush of battle, I sunk into the ground, flying up under the scorpions stomach with a punch that sent it sailing into the air outside.

"Danny Phantom!" I heard Dash scream in wonder, elation in his voice.

I really hated him.

The scorpion came back down, crashing into the earth. It made a weird hissing noise and it's stinger rose up, only it wasn't actually a stinger, it was a snake.

The snake hissed again, the scorpions pincher's clapping angrily.

"Whoa!" I ducked to avoid a lethal looking bite from the snake.

"I've heard having two heads is better than one, but in your case I think there's an exception." I taunted, making the glowing ghost's red eyes flash.

One of the pincher's ran into the wall, missing me my a foot but almost crush a gaggle of screaming girls before I blasted the falling rubble out of the way.

"Thanks Danny Phantom!" They gushed in unison, making my ears cringe.

"Uh, you guys might wanna get out of here. Now."

The scorpion helped make my point when it plucked me out of the air with it's pincher's, the edges slicing my skin. He girls shrieked and ran away quickly, I cringed as the pincher's tightened, threating to slice me in half. With a rush of power I gather ecto energy behind my eyes and unleashed it right into the monsters face.

The thing dropped me instantly, roaring in pain from it's blinded eyes. The snake reared up, hissing menacingly with poison dripping from its wide mouth.

"Danny!" Tucker yelled, throwing the thermos at me. I caught it smoothly, glowering at the monster.

"Time to go back to your tank, ugly." I yelled, pressing the green button and letting loose the long stream of blue.

In seconds, the scorpion-snake was sucked up. I screwed the lid on tightly as I flew back into the kitchen and changed back into Fenton, rattling the thermos for good measure.

"Danny, are you alright?" Sam and Tucker ran over to me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Has class started yet?"

"Dude, your bleeding." Tucker pointed at my arms, looking a little sick.

I looked down at them and saw blood gushed out of the horizontal cuts across the top half of my arms. It stung, but it wasn't too bad.

"It's no big deal. I'll need some napkins to wipe some of this blood up though." I frowned, seeing the long red streaks falling down my arms.

"No big deal? You know you can't heal quickly when your in your human form. We gotta go to the nurse and get that bandaged up." Sam gently pushed me forward, leading me out of the destroyed cafeteria. Tucker mentioned something about an unfinished lunch and promptly disappeared.

The nurse was frazzled from the attack, giving my arms a once over and quickly wrapping it up in thick gauze. The white edge of the bandage was just visible under the sleeves of my shirt.

"Good heavens Danny, you always seem to get hurt when we have these ghost attacks. Don't you pay attention during the ghost drills?" she lightly reprimanded me in a motherly way. I suddenly missed my own mother.

"Yeah." I replied.

She sighed in a relenting way and let Sam and I out the door.

We trekked over to math, talking about random things along the way. We weren't late because getting injured is a valid excuse. By now the teachers have come to expect it.

The rest of the day passed just as slowly as the first half. Math made my brain hurt, as usual, and I accidentally put a hole through Tucker's notebook during lab activities in chemistry. When the bell finally rang, signaling freedom, I ran to my locker and grabbed my homework. Sam and Tucker met me outside and we started the pleasant walk home, despite the slight drizzle from the dark skies.

"And then my Grandma tried to slide down the steps even though she was supposed to be in her wheel chair. The look on my parents face was hilarious!" Sam cracked up, along with me and Tucker. Sam's Grandma was such a nut.

"That's almost as bad as the time my Mom tripped over Dad's shoe and sent the meatloaf sailing into his face." Tucker clutched his stomach and I envisioned his parents doing that easily.

"I can't wait till my Mom gets back." I sighed wistfully, "Granted, the fact that all of Vlad's schemes are on hold for the next five months is nice, but the house is so lonely. It'd be better if Jazz was here at least." I stuffed my hands in my pockets.

"How is Jazz?" Sam asked curiously. I smiled, thinking of my sister.

"She's great, loves college. Princeton's like a dream come true for her. No weird ghost hunting families to embarrass her anymore. Mom and Dad were so proud of her when she got accepted, especially my Dad."

For some reason, I suddenly remembered Dad's comment about Jazz being better than me, and I felt a sad little twinge in my stomach. I harshly pushed it away, it wasn't that big of a deal.

"So what are we gonna do this weekend?" Tucker asked lazily.

"It's only Monday." Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Good things come from planning ahead, Sam."

"Not for Vlad they don't." I snickered.

Sam and Tucker laughed.

Unfortunately, I lived closest to the school, so I didn't get to hear about the plans for the weekend. My lonely house loomed over us as we approached and my good mood descended into something akin to dread as we got closer. I really didn't wanna go home.

Sam and Tucker picked up on this, my growing silence giving it away.

"Hey Danny, you wanna come hang at my place?" Tucker asked.

"I'd love to, but if I don't get my chores done Dad will get mad." I sighed, all of us stopping when we got to the cold steps.

"I guess I'll see you all tomorrow." I half smiled, shrugging helplessly and starting up the steps.

"Yeah, see ya'" they replied in a subdued voice, looking back at me regretfully as they walked on home.

Sighing, I turned back to the door and it let me in, this time unlocked. The house was deadeningly silent except for the small clanking sounds coming from within the lab and several of my Dad's loud, angry curses.

I creaked up the stairs, not really wanting Dad to know I was home yet. He was much to busy in the lab to pay attention to me though, and I easily reached my room. My backpack thumped to the floor and I kicked it over to my desk, staring at it for a moment before going to the bathroom.

When my stomach rumbled again, I sneaked back downstairs, hearing my Dad slam something heavy again and wincing. The kitchen was dirty and I knew with a heavy heart that I needed to clean it or else Dad would be even more angry. But I really had a lot of homework to do...

Sighing, I put food on hold and got started on the dishes, annoyed at my Dad's ability to dirty every dish. You'd think, with only two people in the house and one of said two people being gone all the time, the dishes wouldn't pile up. Yet every time I come home theres a pile of dishes in the sink, waiting for me in all it's filthy splendor.

Gagging slightly, I scrapped a plate of mystery meat into the garbage can, trying not to inhale the smell of decayed animal. I ran water over the plate and put it in the dishwasher, hearing my Dad's stomping footsteps as he came up from the lab.

"This is impossible!" he yelled to the air. "If Maddie was here it'd be easy!"

He trudged into the kitchen and felling into one of the table chairs, glaring out the window before noticing me.

"When'd you get here?" he asked rudely, the permanent scowl on his face.

"About ten minutes ago."

"Hm." he grunted, looking back to the window, thinking.

I continued on with the dishes, his crappy mood bringing me down. He's always like this when I get home. He spends all day in the lab, trying to invent things and stuff, but he can't really do it cause he doesn't have Mom here to correct all his mistakes. So, he gets mad, and finally gives up by the time I get home. Isn't his timing just perfect.

"Danny, how do I bond diluted ectoplasm to a microscopic dot of Hg?" He suddenly asked out of nowhere in a sharp voice.

I stopped and turned to look at him, I blank look on my face.

"Um...I don't know." What the heck is Hg?

"Of course you don't." He muttered, looking back out the window.

I couldn't move for a moment, the desperate need to say something smart to impress him clawing at me. In the end I had nothing and turned back to the dishes with a hurt expression on my face. The twinge in my stomach stretched wider, the feeling of shame spreading.

I finished the dishes in silence, washing the rest by hand and scrubbing out the sink. Dad never moved from his spot, glaring out the window. I wiped off the counters hastily, planning on retreating back to my room as soon as possible.

"Don't forget the living room." Dad mumbled, pulling himself from his chair and clomping over to the fridge.

Sighing, I changed direction and picked up a pillow from the floor. The phone rang as I was folding a blanket and I heard my Dad call, "Danny, get that!" I dropped the blanket and grabbed the cordless.

"Hello?"

"Danny? This is Mr. Lancer." he said in a flat voice and I froze.

Crap, my detentions!

"Uh..."

"May I please speak with your father?" he asked in that same flat tone, my heart beginning to pump harder.

"Mr. Lancer, I am so sorry! I forgot and-"

"Danny, your father." he cut me off, making me bite my lip.

"Right. Hold on."

I forced my stiff limbs into the kitchen, feeling my dread increase as I approached him.

"Um...Dad?"

"What?" he asked sharply.

"It's...um...the phones for you." I held out the cordless, inching away as soon as he took it from me.

I could hear his side of the conversation as I tried to tip toe to my room.

"Mr. Lancer?" he was surprised.

"No, why?" he took on a warning tone.

"He WHAT!"

"Of course Mr. Lancer. Yes, he will. Don't worry about that, I'll take care of the problem." this did not sound good.

My foot was on the first step when I heard him yell, "DANNY!"

I cringed, slowly stepping back down into the dead zone and turning around as my Dad came out of the kitchen, an irate look cemented into his face. He stomped up to me, throwing the cordless across the room where it hit the wall. I winced at the sound, feeling myself shrink as he towered over me.

"You had _two _detentions today!" He roared.

He thrust his arm out and I instinctively took a step back, feeling the rush of adrenaline from ghost fights, horribly misplaced. He grabbed my upper arm in an iron grip, ignoring my yelp as he crushed my cut from the scorpion. He dragged me into the kitchen roughly, throwing me into a kitchen chair and standing over me, his fist digging into the table.

"Just because your mother isn't home that doesn't mean you get to slack off more than usual!" He slammed his fist into the table. I glanced fearfully to the fist and back to his furious glare, my arm still throbbing even though he had released me.

"I'm tired of you constantly embarrassing me! You don't follow our rules, you have horrible grades, you don't do your homework, and apparently your always late to class! What is wrong with you Daniel! Your mother and I have tired everything to get you on the right track but you just throw it back in our face! Jazz never did this! She was always setting a good example!"

He glared down at me, my head bowed as I focused on the tiled floor. My breathing was shallow. I felt shame and hurt welling like a festering sore inside me at his words. My throat was uncomfortably tight. I was an embarrassment?

"You want me to treat you like a baby? Well you've got it. I'm going to make sure you get to school on time. From now on I'm driving you to school. Your serving your detentions tomorrow and I'll pick you up afterwards. Don't make me wait." he stood up straight, still glowering down at me, "Now get out of my sight."

Trembling, I ran from the room, cold horror pouring from my chest. I barely turned the corner upstairs when I transformed into Phantom, leaping into the air and flying through the roof as fast as I could.

The cloudy skies had darkened into a thunderstorm, rain falling in buckets. Lightening flashed, but I didn't care. I flew off into the distance at 120 mph, putting as much distance from myself and Fenton Works as I could.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day was a silent one in the Fenton house. Dad was still furious and wouldn't talk to me as we ate breakfast. I'd returned home, soaking wet and shivering, at about two in the morning from my long flight and was unable to suppress a huge yawn. Dad stopped munching on his frozen breakfast and narrowed his eyes at me.

"Don't you fall asleep in class too. If I hear one word of that I'll make sure you go to bed every night." he warned.

I nodded meekly, stirring around my fruit loops. It would be impossible to ghost fight if Dad started checking up on me during the night. I couldn't afford to fall asleep in class anymore, but the heavy bags under my eyes were already weighing me down.

"Come on, lets go." he stood up suddenly, pushing his empty food tray away.

I must not have moved fast enough for him because he grabbed my arm again and dragged me to the RV, the ache of the bruises hurting more than the slight pinch from the scorpion cut. I winced, but said nothing as I pulled my backpack higher up on my shoulders and jumped into the RV. Dad glared out the windshield and turned the car on with a roar. I buckled up and turned to the window, staring out into the foggy day miserably.

Dad still drove like a maniac, probably the only thing I could see still lingering from his old self. He took ridiculously sharp turns and ran through traffic lights, but instead of his usual excited grin, he wore his ever present glare.

Casper High rose up from the distance, the lawn only supporting the few early birds that were there yet. Dad had made sure to get me to school thirty minutes before first bell. He slammed on the breaking, throwing me forward. Only the seatbelt prevented me from flying through the windshield.

"I'll be here at four. Don't be late." he grumbled, not looking at me.

I nodded dumbly, and left the car as quickly as possible, desperate to get away from the oppressing silence. The second the door shut Dad peeled out of the drive, tires screeching as he turned sharp and disappeared. I exhaled, taking a shaky breathe and rubbing my sore arm, cringing.

I could still feel the shock and disbelief I'd felt when I got out of the shower that morning and saw the large purple bruises in my arm, in the perfect print of my Dad's hand. He just doesn't know his own strength, I told myself, shuddering and pulling my light jacket up higher around my neck.

Most of the early students were in the cafeteria, a few hanging out by their lockers. Anyone who knew me, or knew of my tardy streak, stared at me with open mouths as I passed down the hall and stopped at my locker. I didn't notice any of them though, to busy dwelling on last night to really care.

I slammed the locker shut, not really paying attention to where I was going, just letting my feet take me. I ended up at Mr. Lancer's room, my first class. With a sigh, I opened the creaky door and trudged in.

Mr. Lancer looked at me with shock when I came in, blinking rapidly and almost dropping the book he was holding. I was the first one in the class room, all the empty desks clean and straight. There was a long pause before he found his voice and said something.

"When I asked your father to help you get to school on time I didn't expect him to be so prompt." he finally broke the silence, giving me an appraising look.

I winced, shrugging as I dropping my bag to the floor and my head to the desk.

There was another moment of silence.

"Daniel, are you alright?" Mr. Lancer asked with concern.

"I'm fine." I said in a level voice, the words jumping to my lips automatically, muffled by my arms.

With a jolt I remembered I was gonna half to tell Sam and Tucker about this. Unless I could manage to put on a smile and bullshit a lot of happiness, of course. I decided to worry about it later, taking what limited time I had to catch up on my missed sleep. I closed my eyes and was out like a light.

Almost as soon as darkness took me, my shoulder was being shaken gently my a small hand. There was a lot of noise around me.

"Danny? Danny wake up?" Sam's voice slowly pierced my bubble of sleep, bringing me back to reality.

"Sam?"

"Morning sleepyhead." she smirked, leaning back in her desk. I looked around and saw that everyone was present in the room, pulling out books and throwing paper wads.

"Where were you this morning Dude? Sleep in again?" Tucker asked curiously.

Usually, I meet up with Sam and Tucker at the end of my block and we walk to school together, unless I wake up late of course. I debated telling them the truth, knowing Sam would get it out of me eventually. She was so perceptive sometimes.

"Dad drove me to school, like he's going to do every morning from now on. I forgot about Lancer's detentions yesterday and he called the house. Dad was livid." I said in a deadpanned voice, staring at my textbook.

"Dude, that suc-"

"He said I was an embarrassment to the family." I continued on, angry when I felt my throat tighten slightly.

Tucker dropped something and Sam stared at me with an open mouth, an angry flush rising to her cheeks. Unfortunately she didn't have time to comment because Lancer started class.

"Today were going to start chapter 3 of..."

I couldn't pay attention. My mind zoned out from exhaustion and misery, working to hard on staying awake to take in Lancer's lecture. I couldn't fall asleep in class.

The day passed like a dream, surreal and surprisingly fast. Maybe it was cause I didn't wanna go home. I worked hard to stay awake in all my class, much to my teachers approval. I stared flatly at their smiles, watching the ticking clock and wishing it would go slower. Lunch came in the blink of an eye, with it Sam and Tucker's demand for an explanation. They were the only ones to catch (or maybe they were the only ones who cared) my sullen and melancholy mood.

"Danny, what happened?" Sam asked gently at lunch after an pause between the three of us.

I shrugged, moving the food around on my tray.

"I got home, started cleaning the living room when Lancer called, he said he wanted to talk to my dad and after that it all went down hill." They waited, knowing there was more.

"He got really pissed when he found out I had two detentions, and when Lancer told him the reasons for the detentions he got even angrier. He said he's gonna drive me to school from now on and...and he chewed me out pretty bad about the rest." I watched the mushed peas drown in the yellow green juice.

They were quiet for a while, not quite sure what to say. My heart started hammering when I considered telling them about the bruise. It felt like that something they shouldn't know about, something that was supposed to stay under the table. For some reason, that made me want to tell them more.

"And uh," my mouth got really dry. They looked at me, waiting with silent supporting stares.

"He uh...grabbed me a little harder than he realized," Now that I started saying it I just wanted to get it out as quickly at possible, especially at the growing look of horror on Sam's face. I struggled not to stumble over the words as I let them run out. "And really, he just doesn't know his own strength. He didn't mean to, I know he didn't, it was just an accident. It was probably just-"

"Danny, what did he do?" Sam demanded an answer, looking furious. Tucker was watching me, not wanting to believe what I was saying.

I shut up, taking off my jacket and pulling up the sleeve of my shirt. The wound from the scorpion was nothing more than a minuscule red line, but my Dad's large purple finger prints stood out against my pale skin like a beacon.

They gasped, Sam reaching out and holding my arm gently, inspecting the bruise.

"Look, it's just a little bruise. It'll go away in a few-"

"Danny stop it." Sam said in a cold voice. "This is serious. Your dad's gone too far."

"Yeah, Dude, no parent should ever to that to their kids." he looked a little queasy at the thought.

"He just doesn't know his own strength." I defended, beginning to regret telling them.

"Your making excuses again Danny. Your Dad hurt you, plain and simple."

"This is the first time he's ever done this. It's a one time thing. It's not like we need to start freaking out and scream child abuse." I half glared at them, wanting to get my point across.

They watched me, unconvinced.

"It was a one time thing." I pronounced every word slowly, wanting to get through to them. "I swear, it won't happen again."

"Till your dad gets mad again." Tucker mumbled. I gave him a look that quickly shut him up.

"Guys, don't tell anyone." I practicality begged them as I pulled on my jacket, hiding the bruise from sight once more.

Finally, they relented, sighing heavily.

"Fine, fine." Sam shook her head.

"But only if it doesn't happen again." Tucker warned.

The rest of lunch was quiet, each of us to our own thoughts.

The rest of the day passed just like the morning did: way too fast. It seemed like minutes later I was sitting in Lancer's class again, the halls empty and silent, my detention already half over.

I'd been silent the whole time, using the valuable hour to work on my homework. It wasn't quality stuff, but I had too much to worry about to care about that. As long as it was done I wouldn't get a zero. I'd caught Lancer watching me with a peculiar look on his face, but I always returned to my work, racing against the clock. It was ten till four when an icy blue mist escaped from my lips, my stomach dropping with dread.

"Oh no..." I moaned quietly, glancing nervously out the window.

I debated not going after the mystery ghost, because I knew my Dad would not be pleased if I was even three minutes late for when he picked me up. However, I couldn't let some innocent person get hurt because of my fear. It was my job to deal with the ghosts in Amity, and no matter what challenges, I had to face them. So, with a heavy heart, I raised my hand.

"Mr. Lancer, I need to go to the bath room."

He sighed exasperatedly, glancing at the clock and back at me.

"Fine. Your free to go Fenton, but only because this is the first time today you've asked to go to the restroom. It's not like you'll come back anyways..." he mumbled the last part to himself, returning to his book. My sensitive ghost ears has easily heard that, and I was kinda upset that he had such little faith in me. Then again, it's not like it wasn't true.

I dashed out of the room, dragging all my books with me and keeping an eye out for any ghost. I jumped into a janitors closet and released the white rings around me, quickly jumping up into the air and looking around for the specter. Maybe if I made this quick I would get to Dad in time.

"Hello whelp." Skulker sneered from about two inches behind me. Looks like he's been taking lessons from Plasmius.

Using the rush of adrenaline, I spun around and nailed Skulker right in the chest, throwing him backwards. He halted himself in the air, an angry glare on his face, and raised a large gun at me.

"No banter? Fine. I like less of your annoying voice anyways." he aimed and fired. I easily dodged the shot, momentarily looking down to the front of the school and not seeing any RV's.

I shot several more ecto blasts at the hunter, two hitting one of his legs as he tried to fly out of their reach. He growled, pulling up a smaller gun with what looked like many more barrels for bullets attached to it.

"Let's see you try and dodge this!" he sneered, a loud pop echoing slightly as several little bullets flew at me. I might have been able to dodge most of them, but they split like cells as they flew, doubling the count.

I yelled in pain as the little projectiles embedded in my skin, melting to burning ectoplasm upon contact and searing the flesh.

"Like the new weapon? It's a gift from your half ghost friend." he laughed.

"Plasmius is not my friend." I growled, the pain ebbing away as I let my icy core spread throughout my body.

Skulker's grin dropped when my hands and arms started glowing with an ice blue aura. I felt the freezing power build faster than usual, knowing I needed to end this fight quickly. I noticed an RV was parked outside the school and my stomach lurched. That was enough to release my large spray of ice that pelted and consumed Skulker. He let out a yell that was immediately muffled by frozen water and plummeted to the ground like a rock, his suit shattering upon impact. I would have grabbed the thermos from my locker and sucked him up, but I could see Dad tapping his foot impatiently from here.

I dove into the school, hiding behind a trash can near the entrance and busting out the front doors quickly, trying to get to Dad as soon as possible. I was tired, and my breathing was more like panting, but I don't think he noticed.

"Your late." he said in a cold, disapproving tone.

"I'm...sorry." I panted, "I was...trying-"

"I don't want to hear your excuses. Just get in the car." he cut me off, turning around and getting in the drivers side.

Happy to get off so lightly, I jumped in the passenger and buckled my seatbelt. Unfortunately I wasn't off the hook yet.

"I told you 4 o'clock sharp." he started up again as we peeled down the streets.

I squirmed uncomfortably in my seat, finally catching my breathe and returning it to a normal pace.

"I was-"

"I said I don't want to hear your excuses!" he yelled, pushing on the gas harder and missing a semi by millimeters.

I immediately fell silent.

"Why can't you follow directions, Daniel?" he spat, "It's not that difficult."

I realized that was the second time he called me Daniel. He's never called me Daniel in the past. When he did I was instantly reminded of Vlad, and I didn't like to associate my dad with him.

"Well? Aren't you going to say something?" he demanded, glancing at me with an expectant look.

If I couldn't explain myself what was I supposed to say? Sorry?

"Uh...I'm sorry." I tried, hoping that was right.

He scoffed.

"Sorry. Of course your sorry. Your always sorry, aren't you." he muttered to himself, rolling his eyes as though he expected nothing less.

I frowned, not liking this illogical side of him anymore than the rest. What the heck was I supposed to say? He didn't say anything more as we approached the house. The RV almost tipped as he turned sharply into the drive, throwing me against the window. I opened the door and lugged my back pack out; I had so much homework to do.

"I want you to clean the lab when I'm done with it." He said, walking up to the house.

My heart sunk. Not only was the lab an absolute disaster, but I had tons of other chores and a mountain of homework to complete. I probably wouldn't even get to sleep tonight, and for the first time, it wouldn't be because of ghosts.

"But Dad, I-"

"Don't argue with me!" he roared, throwing the front door open and slamming it shut. He must not have meant to shut it before I got it. I tentatively opened it in time to see him trudge down the stairs.

"It's just a little cleaning Danny. Maddie and Jazz can do more than one thing at a time, so why can't you?" he called back to me, slamming the thick lab door behind him.

I winced as the loud bang echoed through the house, making me feel small. I wish he wouldn't compare me to Mom and Jazz so much. Feeling angry and bitter, I dumped my homework in my room and went downstairs to start on the kitchen again. I wasn't surprised to see every dish in the sink and covered with a weird looking green goo. I didn't even want to know what he'd been experimenting with up here. What ever it was, it had the consistency of grease and took forever to scrub off every dish. I hope it wouldn't clog the dishwasher.

One of the things about cleaning is that it's simple. Each little task takes about the brain power of a caveman, which leaves plenty of room for other thoughts. Like, what else could I do to get my grades up? Or wondering if mom would come home early. Maybe Jazz will pop in for a surprise visit. I wish I could call her, but Dad's taken complete control of the phones like some crazy prison warden.

I dragged the paper towel in circles on the counter, so consumed with my own thoughts that I didn't realized Dad was in the kitchen till he pushed me out of the way to get a newly clean cup.

"Move." he mumbled, taking out a shiny glass and inspecting it.

It must have passed his standards, because he filled it with tap water and went back downstairs. I watched him go for a moment more and shrugged, returning to my work.

I was just finishing up when a loud explosion cam from downstairs and I felt my heart drop. Now he was gonna be really mad. I made sure to stay far away from him when he stomped up the stairs, his hair sticking up and smoking. I turned my back and straightened the couch, remaining as docile as possible to avoid his misplaced aggression. He didn't say a word to me, and I didn't care. I heard the microwave, followed by the creak of a kitchen chair as he sat in it.

Except for his loud, invective mutterings, the house was relatively quiet. It only took about forty-five minuets to clean the living room, which is pretty good time since it looked like a tornado before. Unfortunately, it was already seven o'clock and I still had the lab and homework to do. Dad walked in the living room, not even passing a glance in my direction, and plopped down on the couch.

"Danny, hand me the remote." he said, holding his hand out expectantly.

I placed it in his hand and finished folding the afghan, laying it across the armrest of the couch. I knew I had to check the kitchen again before I went to bed since Dad probably messed it up again, but I figured I'd worry about that-

An icy blue mist slipped out and danced on the air in front of my face, instantly putting me on edge. I glanced nervously at Dad. He was entranced with the TV, staring at it like a zombie.

"I'm gonna go clean the lab now." I announced, bounding for the metallic door.

"I wan't it spotless in the morning." he warned, eyes not moving from the screen.

"Okay!" I yelled back, already halfway down the stairs.

I was about to go ghost but the sight of the lab momentarily stopped me, leaving my mouth hanging open in something akin to horror. It was going to take me hours to clean this war zone. I decided to worry about the horrendous lab later though, and jumped in the air to protect my city, quickly grabbing the Fenton thermos before I disappeared.

Danny Phantom flew through the roof of the house, scanning the sky for ghosts. I didn't see any near by, but that might have been because they had wandered off already. I flew around the buildings, diving into alleys and soaring over roof tops. Finally, I noticed a faint green glow coming from the park, and went to investigate.

It wasn't surprised to see Spectra, in her demonic black form, cackling next to Bertrand. He looked like a giant, radioactive, green booger, his formless shape giving off the green glow. Ugh, these guys were such a pain in the butt to fight, especially with no Sam and Tucker. I wish I had my cell phone.

"Come on Spectra. You and your snappy pet have annoyed me enough for a life time." I landed down in front of them, my hands glowing and a bored look on my face. Bertrand ground his teeth angrily at me.

"And here I thought you liked us." She didn't look surprised to see me, lazily turning around and smirking sarcastically at me.

"Yeesh." I cringed, feeling particularity vindictive today and wanting to take it out on someone, "You guys are really ugly when your not taking over someone's body."

"Well I'm sure when your splattered across the concrete you won't look much better." Spectra snarled, eyes flashing. It was so easy to get her all rilled up.

"I'd look better than you guys if I was splattered across a meat grinder on fire." I smirked.

"That can be arranged." Bertrand grinned evilly and transformed into a giant cobra, the shadow of his head consuming me.

Without missing a beat, I gathered up a giant ecto-energy ball and hurled it at the snake. Bertrand twisted around like lightening and smacked the ball with his tail, sending his sailing back at me. I jumped in the air to avoid it, rising to his level. Dodging the dripping fangs and landed a solid punch under his jaw. Bertrand glared at at me and hit me in the back with his tail. I flew uncontrollably thorough the air and over the brick wall, skidding painfully across the concrete.

With a growl, I returned to the air and charged at the Ghost snake, pelting him with energy blasts. The cobra curled up behind it's shield-like head and deflected all the shots. He raised his head to gloat and got a face full of an ecto-strengthened punch, sending him sailing across the park and into the fountain.

Bertrand hissed menacingly and melted into the form of colossal bear, swinging his massive and extremely sharp claws through the air. My shoulders slumped in exasperation but I dutifully flew into the fight.

He swiped at me, almost cutting me in half. I jumped back, sinking into the ground and coming up behind him. I let loose a blast of ice, freezing the bear to the fountain. Bertrand roared, thrashing in the ice. Grinning, I dived down to his face and smashed his head into the thick ice, hearing something crack. One of his paws rose up confusedly, waving at me as though trying to wave a fly away. He was on the verge of unconsciousness. This fight was so over.

I uncapped the thermos and was just about to suck him up when an enraged female scream came from behind me, claws digging into my shoulders and sending me to the ground. Oh yeah, I forgot about Spectra. The thermos rolled away, knocking against the fountain and coming to a halt.

"You think you can beat us so easily?" she yelled insanely, lifting me from the ground and throwing me against a tree.

I saw stars as my skull smacked against the hard bark. Spectra tangled her fingers in my hair, holding me up higher as my eyes rolled around him my head. I felt a black hand press against my chest and started to panic. I so did not need to be anymore depressed than I already was. My struggling was useless, she just held me tighter. Her triumphant grin turned malicious as my misery danced up her arm, soaking into her formless body.

"What," she began with a hungry grin, "have you been going through, Danny?"

"Get away from me!" I yelled, struggling harder and almost pushing her away. I wasn't going through anything.

"But your misery is delicious!" she gasped as more and more was soaked up through her poisonous hand. Then she gave a start, her grin widening and a look of discovery coming across her face. I felt my stomach drop hoping against hope she hadn't-

"Does Daddy not love you anymore, Danny?" she hissed, a macabre smile warping her black features. I snapped.

"Shut-UP!" I screamed, kicking out at her with all my might. She sailed into the air, smashing against the fountain.

I saw red, wanting to break her in half. What the hell did she know! Of course my dad still cared about me! It was easy to duplicate into four Phantoms this time, my anger was power behind my attacks. Spectra shook her head blearily, and I didn't give her a second more to get a hold of herself. Punches and kicks rained down on her as all four of me sent her in every direction. Bertrand started coming to, so I sent a couple clones down to beat the crap out of him and suck him up in the thermos.

Spectra looked worried, nervous. She couldn't keep up with my attacks. Me and my clone formed a long green whip in our hand and swung, the snake-like tendril wrapping around her form. The pair of ghostly stingers let loose a charge of electricity and Spectra's screams echoed into the night. When I finally let her loose, she fell straight to the ground like a wet rag, smoke rising from her body.

I lowered my self to the ground, breathing heavily, my anger slowing slipping away. A clone handed me the thermos and they they all merged back into me, leaving me alone with just Spectra's still, smoking, form. My anger melted more, and heavy guilt started to wash over me. I really needed to get control of my temper. Pulling myself out of my returning misery, I raised the thermos and sucked Spectra in with Bertrand. The fight was over, but unfortunately I still couldn't get Spectra's words out of my head.

My dad did love me, right?

More miserable than ever, I flew back home. I never saw three green vultures fly off in the distance.


	4. Chapter 4

A week had passed. Report cards come out in two days, and I was a total wreck.

I think I can literally count all the hours of sleep I've gotten since Spectra and Bertrand attacked. The ghosts had been practically swarming Amity Park lately, at least three a night, not including the box ghost. I couldn't afford detentions, so whenever I had the chance I did my piles of homework and extra credit, desperately trying to improve my grades before report cards. My nights were spent ghost fighting and studying, my days were ghost fighting, school, cleaning, and avoiding Dad.

He's gotten so much worse.

I can honestly say I dread the bell signaling the end of school.

Nothing is ever satisfactory to him. Everything I do is either wrong or not good enough, as he often tells me. He drives me to school and picks me up now. Sometimes I'm late after school because of a ghost fight, and he gets angry. If I had to pick one word to describe my Dad, gentle would not be it. My upper arms always have dark bruises on them from when he jerks me around, and when he pushes me out of the way it's usually into a table or wall, so I've got little purple dots here and there too. But, I mean, he's never deliberately punched me, so it's not abuse, right?

I haven't told Sam or Tucker. If they do happen to notice a bruise or two, I tell them it's from ghost fighting. Tucker usually goes for that, but Sam, ever the suspicious one, always has a look of doubt in her eyes. I always wear my jacket now, since sometimes Dad grabs me lower than my shirt sleeve and I can't cover the bruises unless I wear long sleeves or my jacket. Sam is also suspicious about that.

My days go by on autopilot usually. It helps me stay away during class, but I can't pay attention very well. It also makes Dads insults hurt less. Sam says thats unhealthy, but I don't know what else to do. Sam and Tucker know that Dad isn't back to his old self yet, but they don't actually know how far he's fallen from his old self so they don't really understand. It doesn't matter anyways. What could they do?

Currently, though, my stress levels have been going through the roof because I still have two D's and I'm scared of how my Dad will react. I've got a bad feeling it isn't going to be pretty.

"Come on Danny, eat something." Sam urged, looking worried.

I took a mechanical bite.

"Dude, it's going to be okay." Tucker tried to console me. I nodded.

"You got your science grade practically up to a B!" Sam said appraisingly.

"Yeah, but I've still got a D in math and english. My Dad's gonna kill me." I moaned, putting my head in my hands.

"Well, if he tries you can always come to my place." Tucker thought I was joking.

I didn't laugh.

"Danny, what's been up with you? Your hardly eating, you walk around like a zombie, and I don't think you've gotten more than three hours of sleep for the past week." Sam started again.

"Sam, I'm fine." I sighed for the umpteenth time.

"Liar. Your not fine, I can tell." she glared.

I shrugged, hearing the lunch bell ring. Only two more classes till I've gotta go home.

I put my tray in the trash, avoiding Dash when he tried to dump his garbage on me, and followed Sam and Tucker into school. Math was a killer, I came so close to falling asleep. Tucker poked me in the head with his eraser every time I started to nod off, jolting me back to reality quickly. Kitty had attacked during class. She was mad at Johnny or something stupid and was throwing her temper tantrum in my math class.

After slipping out the door, I defeated her as quickly at possible. It was a complete accident that I set our homework on fire. I swear. Kitty put up more of a fight than usual, but she was still easy to beat. After blasting her through the window and sucking her up in the thermos, I changed back into Fenton and slipped back in the classroom, smoothly sliding in my seat before anyone (besides Sam and Tucker) realized I was gone.

Unfortunately, no ghosts attacked during chemistry, and our crazy teacher assigned us plenty of book work to do for that night. As usual, the class went by way too fast, and I counted down with dread as the minute hand neared the twelve, signaling three o'clock.

The ringing bell echoed all along the halls as teens jumped from their desks with smiles and freedom. I slowly rose from my chair, lost in my thoughts, staring at the floor.

"Danny? Ready to go?" Sam asked gently, placing her hand on a bruise she didn't know was there.

"No." I muttered, slinging my backpack on my shoulder and following them out the door, making my way down the hall.

Luckily, no ghost attacked. I had about two minutes to chill with my friends until the RV screeched to a halt in front of the school, idling impatiently.

"Bye guys." I waved with a heavy heart, not looking forward to the usual barrage of insults and chores waiting for me at home.

They waved sadly back at me as I pulled the RV door open and climbed in. I hadn't even shut the door before Dad hit the accelerator and peeled away. I snapped my seat belt and leaned back against the seat, feeling my muscles and bones ache.

Dad was silent, focusing on something more important than me as he sped down the street. I busied myself by checking my backpack, making sure I brought everything home. I swear, I think Dad's trying to break his PR every time he picks me up because we get home faster and faster every time.

I hopped out of the RV, slamming the door shut and following him into the house. He ambled down the steps to the lab, not even looking at me. I dropped my books at the kitchen table, hearing the lab door slam shut and gazing at the dirty kitchen with a sigh. I looked back to my homework, debating. Mr. Gregen had given me a chance to bring my math grade up with extra credit, but there was a lot and it would take a while. I looked around the kitchen, biting my lip and thinking about how I could work this out.

The ghosts usually attack around midnight, Dad wants the house clean before he comes upstairs. My homework and extra credit is so not going to get done in the three hours I usually get. Should I start it now and face Dad's wrath later or should I run the risk of not finishing it later and getting stuck with a D in math? Dad would probably be angrier at the D than the chores. Maybe I could just start the extra credit and clean before he comes up?

I decided to go with that idea. Feeling ridiculously nervous, I sat at the table and opened my math book to the sets of equations I had to solve. I didn't really understand how to do it, but Sam had lent me her notes as a guide. They helped, since I could actually read them unlike mine or Tuckers', and I actually got a decent chunk of the work done.

I was careful to watch the clock. Dad usually comes upstairs at about six o'clock and by then I'm finished with the kitchen and starting on the living room. I stopped my homework at five, packing it away and throwing it in my room hastily before I ran back down the stairs.

The kitchen was just as bad as always, and I went as fast as I could, starting with the dishes. I didn't count on Dad coming upstairs early though. All the dirty dishes that didn't fit in the dishwasher were pilled on the counter as I got ready to wash them by hand. I picked up the biggest and dirtiest dish, a skillet covered in more green stuff, and stuck it in the soapy water. I was finished scrubbing the green stuff off and was about to wash it when I heard loud stomps coming up the stairs, a ball of nervous apprehension dropping like a ten pound weight in my stomach.

I grew more and more tense as the heavy stomps came closer, the lab door banging open and slamming against the wall. Taking deep breathes, I remained calm, waiting for the explosion that was sure to come when he saw I had barely made a dent in my chores. I wasn't dissappointed.

"Daniel, what the hell have you been doing up here? Playing?" he yelled at the top of his lungs, sounding much angrier than usual. Of course, I would pick a bad day in the lab to chance fate. Go fricking figure. I turned to face him, hastily wiping my soapy hands on the towel.

"No, I wanted to get a head start on-"

"I don't care what you wanted to do! You know your supposed to do your chores as soon as you get home! Maddie always had the house clean, and she was down in the lab with me! This is pathetic Daniel! What could you possibly have to do that gets in the way of a few chores? This isn't that difficult! Stop being such a lazy slug!"

He stomped over to me and I quickly scurried out of his way as he looked down in the sink, a furious glare deep in his eyes. I backed away, waiting tensely to see what he'd do. He inspected my work thus far, picking up the skillet and looking at it as though he were a looking through a microscope.

"This is still a mess Daniel! Everything is! You've been slacking _again_!" he slammed the skillet down on the counter, making me cringer at the loud bang. "You always slack at everything! You can't do anything right, can you?"

I was so sick of this.

"You can't even wash a skillet right! There's tons of dirt in this thing!"

I was _really _sick of this.

"You waste everyone's time doing nothing and you expect us to be what? Proud? Your supposed to be a Fenton, Daniel! Fenton's don't slack. Fenton's don't run from ghosts. Fenton's aren't cowards!"

Coward? I felt my repressed anger boil up unexpectedly and explode out in one simple, little, disastrous sentence.

"I'm not a coward!" I yelled back, my fists clenched.

I'm not entirely sure what happened next, but I know it'll haunt me till the day I die.

Dad, who was still holding the skillet, whipped around furiously. The skillet smashed into the side of my head, causing everything to go dark for a second and then pop back up as stars danced in my vision. Was I on the floor?

Four Dad's were above me, screaming something and still looking angry. Everything was spinning, I slowly came back to full consciousness, feeling like I was being pulled through a tube.

"...your own fault! And don't you ever talk back to me again!" he roared, his voice worming its way through my ears. His large bulk disappeared from my line of sight, and I heard his footsteps stomp away, leaving me alone once more.

My head rolled, I couldn't see straight very well. Slowly, I started feeling again, the first thing being a massive head ache that caused me to groan and hold my throbbing skull tenderly. The second being the waves of numb, unadulterated shock and horror that was shoving itself down my tight throat.

I couldn't believe it. It was impossible. I was an accident, it had to of been. My Dad did not just hit me in the head with a skillet.

Even as I thought this my head gave another painful throb, almost as if it was arguing against that thought. My knees curled under me and I laid on the floor for a while, waiting for the dizziness to go away completely and waiting to wake up from this nightmare.

Slowly, my headache died down to a dull throb, and I gently moved my hands away from my head, brushing at the little drops of soapy water that had come flying off the skillet as well. The drops of water were very thick.

I didn't want to think about it yet, so I didn't. I pretended it didn't happen, that I was just having a headache from a ghost fight. It wasn't because of my Dad. Dad would never hurt me.

I returned to washing the dishes, pretending I didn't see the blood on the edge of the skillet or the red drops on my fingertips as the white soap washed it all away. I moved on to the other dishes, cleaning them in a sort of daze. The wet rag made circles of water on the counter tops, just like the mop on the floor.

Everything was going in circles. The mop, the vacuum, the duster, the blankets, the room. Almost blindly I scrubbed every surface of the house, my mind on auto pilot. How would I explain this to Sam or Tucker? To my teachers? How could Dad do this? Maybe he was sick. Maybe he just didn't know what he was doing. He probably didn't realize I was right behind him. I'm sure it was an accident.

Without realizing it, I worked well into the night, not stopping until everything gleamed. I didn't even stop when my ghost sense went off, my mind to blank to register it. When I couldn't clean anything else, I looked around for maybe ten seconds and went upstairs to do my homework, not stopping for a break.

My head was killing me and trying to decipher math homework wasn't helping. My sensitive ears could hear the clock ticking in the hallway and my Dad's peaceful snores. The more the time went by the more my head ached. My shock and horror slowly morphed into anger. Every snore from the bedroom down the hall made me grit my teeth or break a pencil. Unbidden, and seemingly from no where, hatred started worming it's way through my veins. How could Dad do this? What the hell was he being such a jerk!

So mom left for a few months, big deal! That doesn't mean he gets to use me as his stupid punching bag! He's the one who encouraged her to take the job in the first place! Why can't he stop acting like an overgrown three year old and suck it up. It's not like mom isn't going to come back!

I subconsciously grit my teeth harder, thinking about how much mom would freak when she came home to see me covered in bruises. I wouldn't hesitate three seconds to tell her the truth. That'll teach him. Hell, I could kick his ass myself if I wanted to!

That thought turned my blood cold, my fury instantly evaporating. What was I thinking? I couldn't hurt my own father. I couldn't raise a finger against him.

Misery swamped me so suddenly it made my head spin, the rapid change of emotions throwing me for a loop.

I could never hurt him, no matter what he does. He's still my father.


	5. Chapter 5

I tried to focus on my homework, but with my pounding head it was impossible. The math work looked like dancing squiggly lines in front of me. I watched them move around on my paper jovially, my own dead stare remaining unchanged. My head started aching worse, and the dancing lines started falling over. The fell down the paper all the way to the floor and stopped moving, like a murdered animal.

From the black pile of dead squigglies rose up a large fist. It slammed into my chest, knocking the wind from me and some how choking my throat. I fell down down down, into a never ending abyss, choking and falling...

"Danny! Get up! Your going to be late for school again!" My Dad yelled, banging on the door three times before stomping down the stairs.

I jumped up from the desk with a jolt, adrenaline punching through my system, ready for a fight. The room was completely silent, soft sunlight pouring in through the windows. I took in a deep, ragged breath and pushed my sweaty hair back with trembling hands, eyes frantically jumping around the unfinished homework, trying to remember what was going on.

A stab in my brain reminded me of last night and I felt as though I'd been hit in the head by a skillet all over again.

My breathing slowed, a sort of depressed acceptance settling in. My Dad yelled loudly from the floor below me, and I dumped all my books in my backpack haphazardly, not even caring. My shower took five minutes and I pulled on the first piece of clothes I could find. I tried to avoid the mirror, but it was impossible. A kind of morbid curiosity came over me and I stared at my own reflection for the first time in a while, almost not recognizing myself.

Dark bags hung under my dulled eyes. I looked weary, thinner somehow. Black hair covered the wound on my face, but it was hard to hide a bruise that covered almost half your face.

It was red, purple, and green; the edges were a sickly yellow. It spread from cheek bone to the middle of my forehead, a light gash stretched across the middle of it from where the edge of the skillet clipped me. I had washed all the dried blood off, but the cut was still visibly painful.

I was never going to be able to hide this.

"Danny!" My Dad shouted impatiently and I jumped.

"Coming!" I called, grabbing my back pack and running down the stairs.

I stopped in front of him, just out of his arm reach. He glared down at me, eyes darkening at the mark across my face. He turned around and marched out the door without a word, obviously wanting me to follow. My stomach rumbled hungrily, but breakfast was the last thing on my mind. I followed him out the door, silently getting in the RV and buckling myself it, staring at the floor.

He pulled himself up and sat behind the wheel, not turning the engine on. He stared out the windshield, hands gripping the steering wheel so hard I was surprised it didn't bend under his strength. The silence was tense and I waited for him to say something. A little flutter of hope lifted in my chest. Maybe he was going to apologize.

"You were messing around in the lab and some of the equipment went off. Got it?" he said gruffly.

I don't know why that hurt me so much. It was like everything was crashing down around me at his words. He was going to cover it up and he wasn't even going to apologize. He didn't care at all. I nodded numbly, unable to talk or look at him, wishing I was anywhere but here.

When he dropped me off at the high school, I kept my head down, trying to avoid as many stares as possible, but no one looked twice at my scrawny self. Silently, like a ghost, I slipped into my homeroom, early as usual. Mr. Lancer glanced up at me from his book, by now used to me coming in early. Usually he would return to his reading with a smile of approval, but this time was different.

"_Great Gastby_, Fenton! What happened to your face." he dropped his book to the desk and looked as though he were about to leap over to desk.

Instantly, I turned my face away from him, a hand covering the offending bruise.

"I...I was messing around with some lab equipment." I said, my voice straining uncomfortably. I hated lying.

Mr. Lancer was silent, I could feel his eyes digging into my back. He didn't believe me for a second.

"What really happened, Mr. Fenton?" he asked in a calmer and almost wary voice.

I didn't answer at first, taking a deep breath. I had to get a hold of myself if I was going to make it through today.

"I told you." I began in a stronger voice. "I was messing around with some lab equipment, it went off, and I got smacked in the face." I shrugged, still not looking at him as I plopped down in my seat.

Mr. Lancer eyed me suspiciously for a moment, but eventually gave a relenting sigh and returned to his desk.

"You might want to have that looked at by the school nurse." he suggested. I could tell he still didn't believe me.

I shook my head, saying I was fine. I didn't need anymore questions today. Mr. Lancer eyed me for a second more, and returned to his book, looked less enthused for the day.

I spent the spare time working on extra credit, ignoring my classmates as they slowly trickled in just as they ignored me. Report cards were due to come out tomorrow, and I knew that I desperately needed to get my grades up or else. I had a bad feeling Dad would do worse than a skillet if I came home with two D's. If only Jazz were here to tutor me.

"Hey Danny. What's up?" Tucker asked, a little hesitantly, most likely testing the waters to see what my mood was today.

I shrugged, shifting in my seat a bit and hiding my face as much as I could. There was an awkward pause between us. I scratched my pen across the paper, trying to finish before the bell rang.

"So...was the morning okay?" he asked, resorting to subtly asking if it was worth trying to talk to me today. I shook my head.

"Oh, okay. I guess I'll leave you alone then." he said sadly, turning back in his seat.

Oh god, please don't.

I stilled, torn between the need for my best friends support and the fear of incurring my Dad's wrath. He know he doesn't want me to tell, but...

"Danny? You okay?" Sam arrived, setting herself down in front of Tucker. I could feel her eyes, full of concern, as she stared at me.

I was having trouble holding it all it. I felt like a dam stretched to my limit. As pathetically weak as it sounds, I just wanted to crawl in a corner and cry.

"I'm fine Sam." I whispered, unable to talk any louder.

"That's the worst lie you've ever told us. What happened?" she asked sternly, not falling for it for a second.

I shrugged, taking a shaky breath. I saw Sam's stern glare drop instantly from the corner of my eye, worry and fear in her voice.

"Danny?"

It was so hard to stop myself from breaking down right then and there.

_Get a hold of yourself, Fenton!_ I hissed to myself, setting my jaw and taking a deep breath, pushing all my hurt and misery away as best as I could. I was so not going to cry in the middle of class, much less in front of Sam.

"Danny what happened?" she asked again, a certain vulnerability in her voice that I had never heard before. I don't know why, but it made me want to do anything for her. (I blame my hero complex) My once shaky resolve hardened in a flash, and the instant she finished her question my mind was made up.

I looked up and turned to her, finally revealing my face. Sam's jaw dropped and Tucker almost fell out of his seat. Both had matching expressions of horror, although Sam's was quickly melting into fury.

"Dad got mad." I said in a dead voice, just as the bell rang.

Lancer had sharp eyes, so note passing wasn't an option. Sam and Tucker stewed in their fury and shock, not listening to a word Lancer was saying. The day went on without me as usual. I struggled to stay awake, but it wasn't too difficult of a fight with the constant stabs of pain my head was giving me. Lancer droned on and on and eventually the bell rang. I stood up and Lancer's voice called over the loud talking of students.

"Don't forget! Report cards come out tomorrow!" he yelled.

I felt a shiver of fear go down my spine, really really not looking forward to tomorrow.

All the teachers had the same thing to say. Report cards, report cards, report cards. It was a never ending mantra in my head, making me jumpy and anxious. I was stressed enough already, couldn't they shut up and give me a break?

We had more homework and I turned in all my extra credit. A few teachers looked at the scribbles on my papers disapprovingly, but I didn't care. Hopefully I'd get something for it. Two ghosts attacked today, well, three if you count the box ghost, but I didn't even have to go Phantom to beat him. The others were (of course) Skulker and unfortunately, Spectra.

She'd taken a recent liking to me again, probably because of the depressed shroud that seemed to be constantly over my shoulders. My run-ins with her never ended nicely, even if I did always win the fights. Her pitch black hands had permeated my dreams as of late, resulting in even less sleep. She, of course, was having the time of her life, often calling me her new buffet. It was hard to ignore the thoughts that my Dad probably hated me because I was a pathetic disappointment, and sometimes, I couldn't.

Lunch rolled around, but it wasn't the pleasant break from grueling school work that it once was. Now it was the little timer telling me I only had two and a half hours till I had to go home. I took my regular seat, ignoring the stares of other students I'd been getting all day. I suppose the only good thing about the bruise was that Dash decided someone had done a good enough job on me already and he didn't want to alter the 'art'. I wonder what he would do if he found out my Dad was the painter. Probably wouldn't care.

Sam and Tucker sat across from me instantly, having spent all day trying to find a chance to talk to me and unable to do so. They were practically jumping out of their seats, demanding an explanation.

"What happened?" Sam asked immediately.

I looked up at them, Tucker's face turning pained as his eyes glanced to the bruise. Sam's anger solidified when she saw the wound, her eyes flashing, waiting for an answer. I squirmed in my seat, suddenly having second thoughts about telling them. What if they called the police? Dad would get so mad.

"Danny, tell us."

I looked up at Sam, a little guiltily.

"You'll call the police." I stated quietly, making it clear that I didn't want them to.

"Dude, this is serious. Of course we're going to call the police. You can't live with him if he'd gonna do this to you." Tucker pleaded, trying to change my mind.

"I've taken hits before, this is no different."

"Bullshit. It's totally different. This is your _Dad_, not some crazy ghost." Sam said in a hard voice, her fist slamming on the table.

I looked at her in surprise. She usually never cussed.

"I know, but I was just an accident and-"

"Danny, if your keep making excuses like this I'll call the authorities right now."

My eyes widened at her. She was furious, but I got the feeling there was more to it.

"Why are you so angry about this?" I asked.

"Why!? Danny, your Dad is hurting you because he's angry at the world. Why wouldn't I be angry? Your my best friend!"

"Sam, shhhh." Tucker looked around nervously, as did I. Valarie was already looking at us funny.

"Sam, there's more to this than that." I said quietly, silently pleading for her to lower her voice.

She glared at the table in front of us, debating for a moment.

"I'll tell you my story if you tell us yours." She said quickly, striking up a deal.

I watched her for a moment, torn between curiosity and fear. In the end, I knew I'd need my friends. This was something I couldn't keep them in the dark about.

"Fine. You first."

She immediately launched into her story.

"My grandma's husband, my grandfather, used to beat her. I was the only one she told, even after he died. She put all her trust in me and...her stories...they were horrible." Sam's voice cracked, and I realized she was on the verge of crying. I'd _never _seen her cry.

She sniffed loudly and blinked her eyes rapidly, her expression hardening as she willed away the emotions. Me and Tucker waited in polite silence as she got a hold of her self and continued.

"I can't watch my best friend go through the same thing." she grit her teeth and clenched her fists.

I was instinct. I reached out my steady and and placed it over her fist, a need to comfort her surfacing from the deep. She stilled and looked up at me, surprise flashing in her eyes and melting into something I didn't recognize, but I liked it.

"Sam, I'll be fine." I said, giving her a small smile.

"But Danny-"

"You guys can't call the police. There's no proof except for my word. All that would come from it is an angrier Dad, a lot of house hopping for me, and a more screwed up life for mom to come home too. Like I said before, I can take a few hits. Really, I'll be fine."

Sam's anger melted into despair.

"But Danny, you _won't _be." she whispered, shaking her head.

Tucker looked between us, his eyes jumping to our hands. I could see him practically jumping out of his pants to make a lovebird joke about it, but he restrained himself. However, I wasn't sure if he could last much longer, so I reluctantly drew my hands away, taking a deep breath. Sam still looked miserable, and I knew my story wouldn't help anything, but a deals a deal.

"I got home from school yesterday and started on my homework." They straightened in their chairs, giving me their full attention. "Usually I clean till Dad comes up from the lab. He always wants the kitchen clean by the time he comes up, but I had a lot of homework and extra credit and I knew I wouldn't be able focus and finish it during the night. When my Dad came up stairs and the kitchen was still a mess," I felt myself switch to auto pilot again, the words rolling out automatically. "he got really mad. He called me a coward, told me I couldn't do anything right, and hit me in the head with a skillet."

My friends exploded.

"HE WHAT!" Sam screamed, eyes on fire.

Tucker jumped to his feet too, looking like a warrior ready for the kill.

The entire lunch room fell silent as one-hundred and fifty pairs of eyes turned to look at us simultaneously, mainly at me.

I laughed weakly, waving stupidly at some of the stares as Sam and Tucker seethed. This was not good.

Acting quickly, I dragged my friends from the cafeteria. Thankfully, we were close to the door. It banged shut behind us, a low mumbled beginning to emerge from my fellow high schoolers once again. Sam and Tucker came out of their blind fury slowly, stomping ahead of me with smoke coming from their ears. I knew I shouldn't have told them.

"Guys calm down!" I called, running ahead of them and holding my hands out, stopping them.

"Calm down!? Danny! He-"

"I know what he did! Trust me, I do!" My anger slipped out a bit and my voice rose.

Sam and Tucker deflated at bit, simmering, watching me warily.

"Look, I told you and that's huge. Do you know what he would do to me if he knew I didn't stick to the lab accident story? Do you know what he would do if you called the cops? You can't tell _anyone_." I was begging.

"I need you guys, I can't deal with this alone, but you can't say anything. They'd ship me off to some foster home an I won't see you for months. God, they'd probably send me to Vlad's since we all know the fruitloop would somehow worm his way into this mess."

I mentally stabbed the feeling that said staying at Vlad's would be better than staying with Dad.

"_Please_, for my sake, don't tell anyone." My hands were clasped and I was metaphorically on my knees.

They exchanged glances, unsure.

"Danny," Sam began gently. "You can't live like this. It's just going to get worse."

"Yeah dude. I hate to say it, but I don't even think _Vlad _would treat you like this."

"Tucker. Vlad already does treat me like this."

"But it's different, you've told us before. Besides, you don't walk around looking suicidal after you fight with him."

"Yeah, your always looking for a fight and you're more determined to improve your ghost fighting skills. It's...different." Sam slowed herself down, knowing she was treading on thin ice. Vlad was a touchy subject with me.

I didn't have anything to say to that, knowing she was right but wanting to ignore it.

"Look, we're not talking about Vlad here, we're talking about you guys keeping quiet." It was a sloppy subject change, but Sam and Tucker went with it.

"Danny-" I cut Tucker off.

"_Please_." putting as much emotion as I could in it.

They were quiet, but I knew they wouldn't say anything the second they exchanged glances again.

"Fine. We won't say anything." Sam sighed, looked depressed.

"But" Tucker spoke up, "You have to promise to tell us everything that happens with your dad."

I looked at him, a little confused as to why he'd request that.

"We're here for you dude, remember that."

A smile was enough to get everything between us cleared. I loved my friends.

"Promise."


	6. Chapter 6

Two black hands reached out from nothing and grabbed me from my bed, squeezing my wriggling form tortuously. My room fell away, opening up to a never ending abyss that stretched out beyond time. Every thing was dark and the hands squeezed harder, till I could barely breathe.

My Dad's voice echoed all around me like an angry God, each word like a knife.

"Your worthless!"

"Why can't you do anything right!"

"Slacker!"

"Lazy!"

"Coward!"

I figure materialized out of nothing, just like the hands. I instantly recognized him. I'd know that rich Armaini suit anywhere. His back was facing me, hand's clasped behind him. His long silver hair glinted in a light that wasn't there. The insults grew louder and I felt heavier and heavier with misery.

When they reached an impossible din, the words shaking my very bones, Vlad turned around, only it wasn't really Vlad. It was my Dad.

"I hate you."

The words were like a searing knife, cutting me open and leaving me to the hungry hands. Dad turned back around, uncaring as I screamed while the hands leeched off me. Every thing darkened, pain was consuming, the hands stole all I had. I was falling, falling, falling...

"Danny! If I half to tell you to get up one more time I'm gonna drag you to school!"

I inhaled sharply, jumping up from the desk and scattering papers everywhere. My heart rate was rapid, my nerves jumpy. It took me a moment to realize it was all a dream. The sun didn't shine through the window, instead an overcast day met my dull eyes. My breathing slowed at I forced myself from my stupor and hastily shoved all the papers in my back pack.

There wasn't time for a shower or breakfast, so I threw on a new outfit, dragged a brush through my hair and pulled on my jacket. One glance in the mirror told me my bruise hadn't improved, but that was to be expected. When I get hurt in my human form my wounds take the normal amount of time to heal.

I ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time and stumbling before my father, stopping just out of his reach. Dad took in my sloppy attire and rolled his eyes, obviously not expecting anything better from me. I put up my shield, pretending I didn't care as I followed him to the RV.

The ride was silent. He drove twenty miles over the speed limit, barely missing a mini-van. I felt a bubbling pool of dread in my stomach. Today was the day.

I clutched the seat when he took a sharp turn, my trying not to think about my report care. It wasn't anywhere near good enough. I still had two D's.

We pulled up the the school, but Dad didn't unlock the doors to let me out. I sat there, already feeling nervous, waiting.

"Report cards are being mailed out today." he said.

"Yep." my throat was dry.

"It better be good." he warned.

I nodded numbly. I was so dead.

The latch unlocked with a snap and I immediately jumped out, the RV roaring away. I was surprised to see Sam and Tucker waiting for me at the steps.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked as I walked up to them.

Sam shrugged.

"Noth'in. Just decided to get here a little early."

I smiled in appreciation, knowing the really reason.

"Thanks."

They smiled back.

We trudged into the school together, Sam and Tucker doing everything they could to make it seem like a normal day. I played along with their attempts, trying to ignore my fear just below the surface.

"Did you hear that Qwan broke up with Star?" Tucker wiggled his eyebrows, planning something.

Sam smacked her forehead.

"Tucker. You have no chance."

"Sure I do. I can catch her on the rebound."

"You already tried that with Valarie, and look how that turned out." I grinned, opening my locker.

"That's different, theirs no hyper active ghost dog to trash all of Star's things." Tucker waved it away.

"True. And Star doesn't strike me as intelligent enough to hold a grudge." Sam said.

"That's what you said about Valarie." I reminded her with a smirk, pulling my books out and slamming the locker shut.

"Shut up Danny."

Me and Tucker laughed.

We were walking down to homeroom when Star conveniently happed to come around the corner, holding her nose up snottily as usual.

"Oh look. What a coincidence." Sam said in a deadpanned voice.

"Coincidence? This is a sign." Tucker grinned and zipped down the hall.

"Hi. I-"

"No." Star swung her voice, making her dislike clear, and continued to walk, not even looking at Tucker.

Me and Sam snickered. Tucker was not impressed and dragged himself back over to us with a grumpy expression.

"A crying shame." he shook his head as though he actually believed something like that wouldn't happen.

"Tucker, your hopeless." I rolled my eyes, leading the way into Lancer's class.

Things actually started looking up, as long as I over looked the imminent dark future ahead of me. I finished all my homework last night, much to Lancer's approval. It still wasn't star quality, but at least it was something. Once the bell rang he started lecturing about some novel that I couldn't pronounce. It was boring and I didn't like it. Go figure.

Me, Sam, and Tucker spent the class throwing things at each other from the back of the class, the paper bits too small for Lancer's eagle eyes to notice.

Next period, History, was as boring as ever. We were watching Tora, Tora, Tora, and I was way too lazy to read all the subtitles so I didn't have a clue as to what was going on. Again, me, Sam, and Tucker spent the entire class throwing things at each other.

The next class was Computer Applications, which I shared with Tucker. Sam had Creative Writing. Since we couldn't exactly throw computers at each other, we settled to seeing who could spam the others mailbox the fastest. Tucker had successfully backed up my hard drive for at least a good week at least when my life smacked me in the face, causing a groan to escape me.

"Ms. Shupe, I gotta go to the bathroom." I asked reluctantly. She gave me and odd look, but nodded at my excuse. I waved good bye to Tucker and ran out the door.

Once I was in the nearest janitor's closet, I let the white rings slid past me smoothly, answering the call to a ghost fight and hoping to God is wasn't Spectra.

The overcast day had turned darker, rain clouds in the far distance. I looked around for the offending ghost, but didn't see anything. I flew around for a while, trying to use myself as bait, but nothing happened.

Frowning, I debated going back to class, but ended up flying around town to double check. The ghost might have just passed within my ghost sense range and was on its way to steal something.

I floated over the city, checking all the major banks and jewelry stores, but found nothing. The chilly air brushed over my skin, but I didn't feel it. Leaves scattered on the streets as cars zoomed by. Citizens walking calmly along the sidewalk. Nothing seemed amiss. I scratched my head in confusion. Where was-

"An' so then I sayz to him, well if you want to then I don't!"

Loud, obnoxious laughter echoed high above me, my hyper sensitive ears picking it up. I looked to the sky and saw three green vultures flying through the clouds and my expression darkened significantly. Vlad.

I snuck up on them invisibly, a frown on my face. I appeared before them suddenly, stopping them in their tracks as the squawked loudly and hastily back up, all three looking nervous.

"What are you bird brains doing around here?" I growled, ecto-energy alighting in my fisted hands.

"Da boss told us not ta let the fancy pants Ghost Boy see us!" One of the glowing vultures whispered to the leader frantically. Very badly whispered, might I add.

The ecto engery increased. I so did not need to deal with Plasmius right now.

"What's he planning?" I demanded, my eyes flashing, not even needing to name him.

"Like we'd tell you! Da boss would kill us!" The lead vulture squawked.

I let loose a powerful blast, knocking him out of the air violently.

"Hey! Vat was dat for!" One of the shouted.

My irritation increased.

"I don't have time to deal with Vlad. What. Is. He. Planning!" I yelled, holding back my ghostly wail.

The birds flapped nervously, looking down. I followed their eyes to see the leader flying up at top speed, but surprisingly, he wasn't trying to attack. He joined his fellow bird brains, looking at me nervously and off in the direction they were flying.

"No good boys! Lets scram!" He yelled, shooting off in a random direction.

I was stunted for a moment. They weren't attacking? Angrily, I split into three, my clones and I each going after a bird. They flapped without direction, obviously just trying to escape my grasp. I sped faster, gaining on their head start.

A squawk came from behind a building and I knew a clone had caught one. I sped faster and quickly caught the leader I was chasing. Ten seconds later my third clone came around the corner, tackling the last bird. They all struggled, but the birds were no match for me. I half dragged, half chased them out of the city, reaching a pond that stood behind a small neighborhood.

When they were all three above the pond, I shot an ice blast at them, freezing them together in a large cube, but leaving their heads free. Gravity dragged the ice block down, heading for the pond. My clones flew down and caught them before they crashed into the water and flew them back up to my level.

They were all shivering violently, beaks chattering. I didn't care. I wanted answers.

"I ask you again. What is Vlad planning?" I glared.

"Why should ve tell you!" One of them bravely shouted.

"Because I'm the one holding all the cards right now." I smirked, looking pointedly down at the deep pond below them.

"Yeesh, he sounds like da Boss." one of them muttered. I twitched.

"I am nothing like Vlad!" I yelled, ecto energy glowing bright subconsciously.

"Vhat ever you say Ghost boy." The leader did a weird half shrug thing.

I glared at him, debating whether or not to just dump them in the lake anyways.

"It's not like ve'll drown anyways." one said, somehow rolling his pupil-less eyes.

"True," the smirk came back. "But I'm positive you won't be leaving the bottom of that lake anytime soon, and I'm sure Vlad won't be too pleased if you don't report back to him."

They eyes me apprehensively, glancing down at the water with fear now. Usually, I'd just suck them up in the thermos, but I'd forgotten it at school. Sinking them to the bottom of a pond was the next best thing.

"So, what's Vlad planning?" I asked, not intending to ask a fourth time, my tone made that obviously clear.

"Vell, you see-"

"Oh Danny!" a high, female voice called to me, making me cringe with dread.

I lost my concentration and the clones disappeared, dropping the hunk of ice. Since we had been floating over land, not the pond, the ice shattered when it hit a rock. I looked around to face Spectra as the three vultures sped away at top speed, squawking loudly.

Crap.

"Sorry Bertrand couldn't make it today, but you left him in quite a state last time we met." I didn't say anything, glaring at her hatefully.

"Now now Danny. You can't bottle up all those negative feelings." she flew closer to me, hands flexing. I flew back.

"Especially not today." she smiled sickly sweet, her black form dancing in the air.

My frown increased, but I remained silent. I knew well enough that anything I said would somehow be used against me.

"Report cards come out today, don't they Danny?" she asked, trying to get a reaction out of me.

I glared at her, trying not to listen.

"What's Daddy going to do when he sees your a failure?" she tapped a finger against her chin, grinning at me.

The ecto energy doubled and I couldn't repress it as it shot out forcefully, taking Spectra by surprise and blasting her almost halfway across the city. I bolted, knowing I had to get away from her. Windows zipped past me and I dove under bridges, avoiding semis and people as much as possible. My ghost sense went off and I knew that Spectra wasn't far behind me. I speed up, ignoring her call, the park in sight. I knew the school wasn't far off. I had to get the thermos.

"Danny, you can't run forever." She suddenly appeared right in front of me. I slid to a stop, fear on my face.

She grabbed my arm and hurled me to the ground. I felt the earth and grass bunch up under my back as I slid across the park, eventually coming to a stop. Earth fell from my back as I picked myself up, holding my aching head and looking around blearily for the psychotic ghost.

Instinct told me to turn around and punch and I listened, nailing Spectra in the face. She flew back and crashed into a bench, groaning as she picked herself up.

"That wasn't very nice Danny. Although now I guess I know how you feel when Daddy beats you." she pulled a thoughtful look.

"Shut-up!" I felt the energy of my core increase, ecto energy flaring.

"You must be pretty pathetic if _Jack Fenton _can't even stand you." she said flippantly. I ground my teeth, ignoring the hurt and using my mounting anger as power.

"I'd hate to be you when he finds out your little secret. How do you think Daddy will react when he finds out your an embarrassment _and _a freak?"

"Leave. Me. ALONE!" I roared, letting loose all the raw power I could, watching as it slammed into her formless body.

She gasped in surprise, obviously intending for me to get depressed, not furious. She screamed as neon green energy tore at her body, slicing it to ribbons. I attacked with every drop of anger I had, and once it ran out, Spectra was left barely holding on to her form. I breathed deep, watching her struggle to keep herself from fading away. Her frightened eyes turned to glare at me as she got ready to flee.

"I'll be back, you little freak. Your Daddy isn't going to tolerate your worthless presence much longer, and when he finally gets rid of you, I'll be waiting to finish you off." she hissed, and then she was gone.

My ragged breathing was the only thing to be heard. I felt empty inside, all my anger gone, leaving nothing but misery behind. I ignored Spectra's parting words, along with the shiver that went down my spine. Exhausted and weary, I dragged myself into the air, slowly heading off toward the school with a heavy heart.


	7. Chapter 7

Why is it that all my big scene, climax-ish chapters are the shortest?

* * *

"Dude, where ya been? You missed lunch."

I sat next to Sam and Tucker, having already missed half of math. After ignoring the teacher's sarcastic "Welcome back" I pulled out my homework, handed it in, and fell to my desk, staring blankly at nothing. My stomach growled hungrily.

"Vlad's planning something. Again." I explained tonelessly, still staring at nothing.

"Ouch."

"Found his stupid vultures and was just about to get them to talk when Spectra had to come and interrupt."

"Double ouch."

"So, on top of everything else, I now have to deal with a crazy fruitloop." I glared, slouching in my seat.

My friends watched me sympathetically and I exhaled, deflating. The teacher droned on. I didn't take in a word of it.

"I'm scared to go home." I admitted to them quietly, swallowing thickly.

They didn't know what to say to that.

Math passed by, and before long it was five minutes until the end-of-the-day bell for science too. My stomach was a fit of nerves. Dad must have already seen my report card. It was a good sign that he wasn't charging up to the school, right?

I watched my science teacher, Mr. Collins, write some elements on the board. I copied them down blindly, glancing at the clock at though it were a time bomb. When the shrill bell rang loudly I jumped, my action going unnoticed as the rest of my classmates grabbed their books and ran out the door. I debated staying in my seat and refusing to leave.

"Danny? You coming?" Sam asked gently, her and Tucker standing beside me.

I mumbled something I couldn't understand myself and stood on numb legs, dropping my books in my bag and following my friends down to my locker. Student, carefree and happy, pushed past us, running up and down the halls. Each step I took was a step to my death and I went as slow as possible.

Even at my snail pace we still made it to my locker and out the front doors way too fast. Rain was pelting down and slamming on the ground in massive drops, the sky was dark. We all sat under the awning of the school, silent, waiting. Time ticked by and I waited. Tucker and Sam called for a ride, and they waited with me. When it was twenty minutes passed the usual time Dad picked me up, I knew I was walking.

"He's not coming guys. I'll just fly or something." I sighed, still nervous and jumpy.

Tucker's ride pulled up, followed by Sam's. Convenient.

"No, you can ride with me. We only live a few blocks apart and your house is on the way." Sam put her hand on my shoulder gently and I smiled in thanks.

We stood and dusted ourselves off, pulling our jackets up and getting our books together. After many hugs and "good luck"'s, we ran to the cars; I swear the rain water was attracted to us. Sam yanked the door of her inconspicuous car open, and I slid in next to her, taking note of the high class upholstery.

"Fenton Works." Sam said, and the anonymous driver took off at the appropriate speed limit. It felt odd.

The rain pelted against the windows as the car speed down the wet streets smoothly, the windshield whippers moving back and forth quickly. Me and Sam were silent, not knowing what to say. I debated whether or not to hold her hand, thinking it might weird her out but really needing the support.

My dread increased when I saw the bright neon sign of my house up the street, and I went numb. I suddenly didn't care if it weirded her out and grabbed Sam's hand, holding it tight. She responded instantly, clutching just as tight and squeezing when the car rolled to a stop outside the front door.

The driver got out of the car and produced an umbrella, coming around to my side and opening the door.

"Here you are, Sir." he announced in a high class voice.

I looked up at the familiar front door through the rain, not sure if I could move. Sam squeezed my hand again.

"Promise me you'll find me if things get bad." she whispered.

"I promise." I looked at her, finding strength in her amethyst eyes.

Our hands broke apart, no blush passing between us. I grabbed my back pack and exited the car, calling a last good bye to her before I ran up the steps and under the shelter of the door. I watched the car start up again and slowly take off, turning a corner and disappearing. I suddenly felt very alone.

The door knob was cold under my damp hands, and I gently turned it, the door creaking open. I peaked in and saw my Dad sitting on the couch, an open envelop and a piece of paper spread on the coffee table in front of him. My stomach dropped.

"Close the door behind you." his voice was tonelessly low.

I swallowed thickly, doing as I was told. The door clicked shut with an odd sense of finality, the loud rain instantly silenced. Palpable tension filled the room, thick enough to cut with a knife. I gently lowered my back pack to the floor and hung up my dripping jacket, moving slowly as though Dad was an unpredictable, wild animal.

I stood straight as he reached out and picked up the piece of paper, staring at it expressionlessly. It was my report card.

"What is this?" He asked, unnervingly calm.

"Um...my report card?" his eyes narrowed, voice becoming rougher.

"Don't get smart with me. What is this?" he asked sternly, as glare coming onto his face.

I didn't know what he wanted me to say, so I stood their silently, waiting.

"Dammit Daniel, answer me!" He yelled and I flinched as his voice shattered the tense silence.

"It's...it's-"

"It's proof that your nothing more than a failure!" he yelled, clenching the paper in his fist.

"Your mother and I have tried everything, given you everything you've ever needed, and _this _is how you repay us? Fentons don't make D's Danny, especially not two! But I guess that's all your worth, isn't it? D's and F's." he sneered.

"I didn't make any F's." I argued.

"You don't need to! All one has to do is look at you and they can tell that's all your worth!"

I clenched my fists, trying to put up my wall, but not having the strength too.

"I don't understand you, and I don't even want to! Your impossible! I give you everything you need, even make sure you get to school on time because you like to act like a five year old, and you still can't get good grades! I'm done, Daniel! Finished! I've put up with your rule breaking and lazy attitude long enough! I don't know how your mother deals with you all day, because I sure as hell can't!"

"I tried Dad! I swear!" I pleaded, my misery and hurt breaking from the bottle I'd been stuffing it in for the past month.

"You tried?" he roared, standing up and striding over to me, fury in his eyes.

I flinched instinctively when he grabbed my hair and pressed my head against the wall, pressing the crinkled paper into my face.

"Does that look like trying to you!" he shouted, ripping it away and throwing me into the center of the room.

He turned around and glared me, his large, hulking form more intimidating than Pariah Dark. I stepped back fearfully as he approached, legs bumping into the coffee table.

"If you actually _tried_, you wouldn't have made anything below a B! Jazz tried, Danny, and she's so much better than you theres no comparison!"

"Dad, please." tears clung to the edges of my eyes, the dam was about to break.

"Shut up!" his fist slammed into my jaw, the power behind the punch throwing me to the floor. I stared at the carpet in pained horror, lightly touching my aching jaw in numb shock. I almost missed his next words.

"Your weak!" he grabbed me by my hair again and stood me up, only to punch me in the chest and send me back to the floor. I lost track of thought, focusing back on his attack.

"It's your own fault you can't make something of yourself!" he kicked me in the side. I curled into myself, biting my lip and trying to hold back the inevitable tears.

"I thought it would be great spending time with you while Maddie was gone, but its been _completely miserable_!" He kicked me twice more, emphasizing his last two words. I couldn't stop them; hot tears ran down my face at his words, _everything_ hitting me at once.

"I don't know how she puts up with you! Your a waste of space, Daniel, and that's all you'll ever be!" he yelled as I struggled to get up, wincing.

"Shut! Up!" I screamed, fed up with everything and desperately wishing that I had the strength to hit him back.

He drew his fist back and punched me in the face, my nose cracking and blood pouring out like a faucet.

"You wanna mouth off to me!? Do you!?" he picked up the coffee table like it was made of foam and slammed it against my back, the wood cracking in two.

I fell to the floor, struggling trying to drag in air. Dad kicked me in chest again, and I screamed painfully as I felt something break.

"Your pathetic!" he roared, stomping on my leg and pushing me onto my back.

Blood bubbled over my lips and I struggled to breathe, my head spun as Dad punched me again, throwing me farther into the floor. God, I couldn't do this.

"If you weren't so weak, you could take this like a man!" he yelled grabbing my arm when I tried to defend myself and holding it in a crushing grip, leaning over me.

Gasping painfully, I tried to pry his hand of my arm, the bone feeling as though it were about to snap. Dad pulled another fist back and I cringed, blood pouring from my nose and mouth, tears dripping down my face.

Then the door burst open, and Plasmius was glaring at my Dad with more hatred than hell could contain.

Dad's glare dropped to surprise, but he didn't have time to react.

"You, Jack Fenton, are more of a monster than I." Vlad said in a quiet voice that held more power than the roar of a God. He was furious.

A powerful red ecto blast shot from his hand like lightening and Dad was thrown against the wall, instantly knocked out cold.

Vlad's presence was it for me. I couldn't stop the sob that ripped through my throat and I hid my face in shame, turning away from my arch enemy and hoping I'd wake from the nightmare soon. Everything hurt. My chest, my heart, my head, my soul. I just wanted to shrivel up and die right there.

A strong arm rest against my bruised back and flinched instinctively, thinking of Dad.

"Oh Danny." Vlad said quietly in a mournful voice, somehow turning me around and hugging me tight, arms wrapped around me protectively.

Okay, I lied. _That _was the breaking point for me.

I cried openly, clutching him as though my life depended on it and burying my face in his chest. Have no clue why. It made absolutely no sense. He caused hell for me on a regular basis and laughed about it. So why was I clinging to him like a little kid and sobbing into his chest? Apart of me knew, but I couldn't put it into words, and frankly, right now I didn't care. Vlad was here and he was caring for me like my father hadn't and that was enough for me.

* * *

YaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayVladsAwesome.


	8. Chapter 8

I'm going to kill this chapter. It was ridiculously hard to write and I personally think I Epic failed at the attempt, but I'm going to kill someone if I go over this one more time so...here it is. Blah.

* * *

Hardly any sunlight spilled into the darkened room through a thin split between a pair of heavy curtains. My brain felt sluggish and slow, like it had been running a marathon for the past week. I couldn't make out many shapes through my bleary eyes, but I could tell I was in a fancy bedroom. A soft yellow light was beside me, casting a warm glow on the silken bed I laid in. Someone was gently dabbing my aching head with cool water, slowly bringing me back to reality.

I tried to move to see who it was, but everything hurt. It felt like I'd been hit by a train. Where was I?

"Danny?" A low voice asked me, slightly tentative, but caring.

"Dad?" I mumbled, forcing my lethargic head to move towards the soft golden light. I blinked blearily, seeing silver hair spill around a surprised face. He blinked and in that moment everything came back instantly, adrenaline and horror punching through my system. I was suddenly back in my living room, bracing myself against another wild attack.

"Dad!" I shouted, jumping back despite my protesting bones and frantically looking around in fear, waiting for him to come out of the shadows and strike me again.

"Vlad, w-whats going on? Where am I?" the adrenaline rush was making me jumpy and twitchy, I couldn't stop looking into the black shadows for my father.

"Danny, your father isn't here." Vlad said in an assuring voice, watching me as though expecting an attack.

I didn't believe him at first, but when the pressing silence was only interrupted by my ragged breathing, I realized it was true, and I couldn't help but relax, feeling oddly safe despite Vlad being less than five feet away. Dad...dad wasn't here. My uneven breath started to slow, my pounding heart reducing to a normal rate. We both stared at each other, waiting for the next move. I was tense, expecting Vlad to proclaim how he was going to take advantage of the situation that would result in a worse hell, but he didn't move. He didn't even give me that smug, arrogant, ha-ha-your-suffering look. He stared at me with...worry? It was strange to see something like that in his eyes.

"Danny, you need to rest." he said slowly, obviously expecting me to make a run for it. I glanced over to the curtained window, debating whether or not to bolt. But...where would I go?

Slowly, I crawled back over to the pillows, my aching body becoming much more apparent without the adrenaline. I don't even think I could leave if I wanted to. Vlad's hands hovered over me awkwardly, he looked as though he wasn't sure if he should help or not. I ignored him, not wanting to face the fact that he cared.

I managed to get back under the silk sheets again, my head sinking in the cloud-like pillow. We were both silent, my ragged breathing was easily heard. My chest ached. I faced the other side of the room, blocking everything out. It was odd actually, I didn't really feel any more emotions now that I was back from my momentary panic attack. It was like a giant heavy blanket was covering me now that I remembered the whole situation. Maybe I was just tired.

I felt Vlad's hand's on my chest and I turned to look at him. He glanced at me for a second, but continued to rub a strange thick paste on one of the large bruises littering my chest. It was then that I noticed I was clad in nothing but my boxers. A small amount of modestly managed to push through the metaphorical blanket and a light blush inched across my face. However, I was more concerned with the strange paste than the lack of clothes.

"What's that?" I scrunched up my nose, looking down at the stuff.

I suppose, had I cared, I would have been throwing a fit, flinging the foul smelling gunk across the room and spewing accusations about Vlad trying to turn me into a goop monster. But as I mentioned before, I'm really not feeling anything right now. The whole 'Vlad Masters saved you from your suddenly abusive Dad and is now caring for you like a real father should' hasn't sunk in yet.

"A natural remedy from the ghost zone. It's full of ghost vitamins and should speed up your healing process while in human form." he covered the slightly green paste with a bandage, wrapping it down securely.

"It looks like plant barf." I said flatly.

Vlad rolled his eyes.

"You and your elegant descriptions." he mumbled, the corner of his mouth twitching into something of a half smirk.

He leaned back in the wooden chair, wiping his hands on a towel that was once folded on the bedside table.

"I didn't expect you to wake so soon. It's only 8 o'clock." he said, off handedly.

"In the morning?" I gaped. I'd _never _woken up on my own at 8 in the morning.

"Mmhmm, although you did pass out in the early evening, so..." he trailed off, turning to stack the towels and medical stuff on a tray.

I didn't say anything to that, not wanting to think about yesterday. Vlad must have gotten the message, because he didn't say anything either. I watch as he stood from the chair, stretching. He wasn't wearing the vest or the jacket to his suit, and the white sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. It was a different look for him, it made him look more down to earth and much less evil-villainy. More...human?

My stomach gave a weird jolt as he picked up the tray and headed for the door, obviously with the intent to leave me alone in the dark, empty room. My body moved on it's own, driven by some insane need. I jumped up from the pillows despite the pain, my arm stretched out, reaching.

"Vlad, don't-" I just barely managed to cut my hasty words off, instantly bringing my arm close to my chest in embarrassment.

He turned around, an eyebrow raised. There was a knowing gleam in his eye that I wasn't quite sure what I felt about. I looked over to the wall sheepishly, scratching the back of my head despite my protesting bruises.

"Uh...never-"

"I'll be back up with some breakfast." He cut me off, turning and walking right through the door, not giving me a chance to reply.

I stared at the spot where he disappeared, a swirl of embarrassment and appreciation mixing around inside me. I sat in the silence, looking around uncomfortably. I don't know why I was so uncomfortable with being alone, it's not like Dad ever locked me in a closet or anything. I was always around people. Well...except when it was just me and him at the house. Alone. Oh, duh.

I sighed, mentally pushing those thoughts away again, but unable to keep my eyes from nervously darting to the darkest corners of the room. I tried not to let my relief show when Vlad suddenly phased up through the floor, but I think the fruitloop caught it.

He was carrying another tray, this time filled with food. At the sight of the golden waffles and brown sausage, my hunger unexpectedly attacked. God, I was _starving_!

"Danny, when was the last time you ate anything?" Vlad watched me warily, eyes glancing to my thin form.

I paused from inhaling the food, a thoughtful look coming over my face. That was a good question.

"About three days." I shrugged, resuming to stuffing the sweet sweet sustenance down my throat.

I never saw Vlad's eyes momentarily flash bright red with sudden fury.

In record time the meal was gone, but Vlad wouldn't let me have anymore because he said I'd get sick. Something about moderation. I yawned tiredly, rubbing my eyes. It was quiet; Vlad set the empty plates on a table next to the door. I was propped up by large pillows, staring blankly at the pure sheets in front of me. Vlad was still standing by the door, arms crossed and a pensive look on his face. Silence pressed against us both, but I don't think either of us noticed, too wrapped up in our thoughts.

As much as I wanted to ignore everything that was happening, I couldn't ignore Vlad. Or at least, I couldn't ignore his suddenly hospitable actions. Didn't he want me dead? Why didn't he just leave me at home? How did he even know what was happening? Why had he looked so terrifyingly furious yesterday?

My eyes were drawn to his slightly shadowed figure. I stared at him, wishing the answers would jump out of his expressionless face. I needed to know, just this one little thing.

"Vlad." I called, getting his attention a little reluctantly.

He came out of his revere, looking over at me with an eye brow raised.

"Why are you helping me?"

Vlad stared at me for a long while, expressionless. But then his featured softened unexpectedly and he smirked, a glint in his eye.

"Just because your a pain in the neck it doesn't mean I want you dead."

I winced inwardly at his insinuation about my dad.

"He wasn't going to kill me."

"Oh really?" he raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "Maybe not then, dear boy, but I have no doubt of the future, accident or not."

I glared half heartedly at him, refusing to believe it. After a moment, his own challenging stare dropped away, replaced with a much gentler look that I wasn't used to seeing on him.

"Speculations will get us no where Daniel, but you cannot deny," his expression suddenly turned hard, angry almost, "What your father did yesterday was completely unacceptable."

The question bounced off my lips before I could stop it.

"Why do you care?"

He looked at me for a moment and the smallest ghost of a smile-not smirk, but a genuine smile-crossed his face for a second. He didn't answer me, instead walking leisurely to a large desk tucked into a corner of the room near the bed, facing the room at a diagonal angle. A long book shelf was set behind it, easily accessible in the wheeled chair. The desk was piled high with papers, a cup of steaming something holding them down.

"Since your so weakened, I see no need to restrict your ghost powers," He changed the subject before I could protest. "Naturally, I'm going to keep an eye on you so you can't carry out some hair-brained, teenaged scheme and wind up hurting yourself even more." He rolled his eyes, pulling the desk chair out and sitting down, picking up a pen and writing on a paper, seemingly wrapped up in his work.

I glared at him. I so didn't need a babysitter.

However, as screwed up as it sounds, I'd rather have him here than not. But only because I just didn't want to be alone right now. And, I mean, it makes sense for him to want to keep an eye on me anyways, what with my ghost powers not being restrained. I could seriously cause him some trouble if he wasn't careful.

Granted, I wasn't really feeling up to par at the moment and _technically _I probably couldn't even make it down the hall with out falling over, but hey, the possibility is there, right?

...who am I kidding. I'm barely a threat to him even with my ghost powers. He's not guarding me from foiling his stupid schemes, he's choosing to stay with me so I'm not alone.

…

…

…

Stupid fruitloop.

I carefully adjusted and fell back into the pillows with a sigh, wishing life could get back to being simple. Back when Dad was the goofy dork and Vlad the evil villain.

XxX

I didn't even realize I fell asleep until I woke up that afternoon. For a moment I thought I was still dreaming. The sunlight was floating through the open window, lighting up the room. A warm spring breeze was brushing against my bleary eyes, enticing me to open them. Through tired eyes I saw vibrant blue skies and pearl white clouds. I couldn't appreciate it as much as I would like though. Besides the swirling mess of confusion in my brain, there was one single thought screaming rather loudly through my stomach.

I was really hungry.

A scratching of a pen alerted me to Vlad's continuous presence. I silently turned my head, looking at him. He obviously hadn't moved from that spot since I fell asleep. Again, I wasn't sure what I felt about that. I still didn't understand why he cared so much. Was this all a trick?

I scowled at him, but he was oblivious to my glare. Maybe this was all a trick. Maybe he was just trying to get on my good side and then he was gonna attack when I least expected it. I felt my scowl deepen. That sounded like something he would do.

Unfortunately, in my current state, I couldn't do very much to fight against him. I may still have my ghost powers, but all the injuries I received in my human form take as long as anybody else to heal, and worse, they stick with me whether I'm ghost or human. Frankly, it made no sense to me. Whenever I'm injured in my ghost form, the wounds usually heal up by morning. Why it can't work the other way around I'll never understand.

I pulled myself from my pointless musings and focused on the situation at hand, the situation being my dying stomach. As much as it bothered me, I'd have to rely on the fruitloop for now.

"Vlad?" I called, inwardly cringing at how pathetic I sounded. I coughed and forced myself to sit up more, refusing to wince.

Vlad looked up from his desk, a question in his expression.

"Uh, can I have something to eat?" I asked, my voice stronger.

Vlad paused and then half-smiled in amusement, setting the pen down and standing, taking a moment to stretch.

"Anything in particular?" he asked. I found it odd that he was asking.

"No. As long as there's a lot of it." I said bluntly, my stomach agreeing loudly.

"Fine. Just stop trying to move so much. Your never going to heal if you keep trying to sit up." Vlad reached down and gently pushed me back into the sinfully soft pillows. I wanted to say something sarcastic and slightly rude, but I was afraid he wouldn't feed me if I did.

Instead I nodded reluctantly, watching as he left the room. The door clicked shut and a heavy silence filled the room. I looked out the window, at the beautiful weather just beyond my reach. My thoughts drifted. Sam and Tucker were at school by now, probably worried sick about me. With a pang in my stomach, I realized I had broken my promise to Sam. I had promised that I would go to her if things got bad. I looked down to my wrapped chest. I guess this would classify as bad.

But here I was at Vlad's house instead, although it wasn't exactly my choice. However, if it wasn't for the fruitloop there's no telling where I'd be or what state I would be in. Maybe...maybe he was right. Maybe Dad would have gone to far (without realizing it of course) and I wouldn't be at Sam _or _Vlad's. I shivered at the thought.

I wonder what Dad's doing now? Does he even care? My mind was numb as I stared at the soft sheets, not daring to go past wondering. I just wanted to forget it ever happened. Sam would tell me that's unhealthy. I smiled softly, thinking of her. It was easier to forget when I thought of her.

Then Vlad came back in, and all those good thoughts trickled away. There was still the possibility that he was tricking me.

He walking in holding a tray with food, and set it on the bedside table, giving my mistrustful glare a raised eyebrow.

"Well you seem to be getting back to your old self quickly." He commented, ignoring the glare and sitting in the chair next to me. I couldn't stop glancing at the plate of food, my stomach screaming.

Vlad rolled his eyes, moving the plate onto my lap gently. With absolutely no shame, I immediately began stuffing my face, totally ignoring Vlad.

"You're going to make yourself sick." He advised.

"Don't care. I'm starving." I replied thickly, tearing my throat as I swallowed huge chunks of food.

Vlad settled into a kind of simmering silence, mad about something I think. I was too focused on the rapidly decreasing plate to really notice. It wasn't long after that I finished, sighing contentedly, feeling a full stomach for the first time in a while.

"Are you quite finished?" Vlad asked, slightly sarcastic.

"Yep, I'm good." I smiled, my situation looking a little bit better now that I was fed.

Vlad moved the plate to a table by the door, setting it down slowly and looking hesitant, almost like a nervous parent. It was so unlike him that I didn't really know what to make of it. I wasn't sure what I would do if Vlad kept this act up because I think I was falling for it. It was nice to have someone take care of me like this.

Whatever Vlad had wanted to say, he must have decided against it. He looked back at me with what was supposed to be a reassuring smile, appearing as through he didn't know what to do with himself. I didn't understand what was wrong with him. Usually I couldn't read him if my life depended on it, but he was practicality an open book here. Is what my Dad did really affecting him this badly, or is this all part of his trick?

"Vlad, are you okay?" I asked slowly, looking slightly wary.

Vlad snorted.

"I can't believe that _you _are asking _me _that question." He shook his head. He sounded like his usual self. Perhaps that slight slip had been a one time thing. He already had his usual inscrutable mask on again and he was heading back to the desk to continue paperwork.

I didn't want to be bored though, because being bored meant having time to think and that was not something I was ready for yet. Unfortunately, there wasn't much of anything I could do as I sat, wounded, being babysat by Plasmius. If I even tried to get out of bed Vlad would flip. He probably just wanted his precious 'apprentice' to heal correctly. There was no way he actually cared about me. I was surprised at how much this depressed me.

I suddenly wished Sam and Tucker were here. I could really use their help. I was so confused about everything and I had no clue what to do. I didn't even know what to feel. I stared at my fingertips, wishing for the millionth time that none of this had ever happened. I'd give almost anything to have a chance to talk to my friends. Vlad's pen started scratching again, breaking the silence. I sighed mournfully, listening without really listening. It was about two minutes later that I finally thought of a way to fix my boredom and talk to Sam and Tucker.

"Hey Vlad, can I borrow some paper and a pencil?" I asked quickly, looking hopeful.

He set the pen down and looked at me suspiciously.

"Why?"

I bit my lip, not wanting to tell the truth because I was afraid he wouldn't let me.

"Don't even bothering trying to lie, Danny. I'll be able to tell." This is very true. I'm a sucky liar.

"Fine." I sighed. "I wanna write a letter to Sam and Tucker. They're probably really worried."

"You mean they know?" He sounded incredulous.

"Of course they do." I replied as though this should have been expected.

"And they didn't tell anyone?" He was even more surprised, I didn't understand why he was so surprised-or even cared enough-about this.

"Well...I told them not to-"

"How long have they known?" He stood up, the paperwork forgotten, his voice rising.

"Since the beginning, but-"

"And they didn't tell _anyone_? Why on earth not? Do none of you have any sense?"

I scowled, offended. What did he know?

"Well how long have you known? Or did you just randomly pop in my house and stumble upon your discovery?" I was getting angry.

"I've barely known for three days! My idiot vultures just got around to telling me because they didn't think it was 'vital information'." He was getting angry too.

"You've been spying on me _again?_" I accused, feeling my emotions start to un-bottle. "Why can't you just leave me alone!"

"Leave you alone? Your damn lucky I was there!"

"I was just fine!"

"He was beating you to death!"

"He was not!"

"Are you blind!?" He roared, fire in his eyes. "You have two broken ribs, a broken nose, multiple bruises, and according to my vultures, he hit you with a _frying pan_!"

"That was last week!"

"It doesn't matter Danny! The fact of the matter is that he's abusive and you can't stay with him!"

I froze. Was this his plan? To take me under his oh-so humble wing and save me from the evil tyrant?

"I'm not going to live with you Plasmius!" I yelled loudly, my chest aching.

Vlad's eyes flared.

"Dammit it Danny, I don't care where you live as long as you don't go back there!"

He...cared? No way.

"WHY? Why the hell do you care? It's not like you've never beat the crap out of me! Quite acting like a saint, Plasmius! I'm not falling for your stupid tricks!"

"You think this is all a trick?" He hissed.

I tried to keep my glare up, but my anger wasn't in it. I was so confused about everything. I wanted to be angry at Vlad, but I wanted to stay with him. I wanted him to go back to caring for me, but I didn't want to be tricked. I didn't want him to hate me, I really really didn't. As pathetic as it sounds, I felt like crying. I already had my Dad hating me, I couldn't have Vlad hate me too, assuming he doesn't to begin with. I just...I couldn't hear him say it.

I felt my walls go back up, expecting the worse and getting ready to take it.

But Vlad didn't do anything. He stood there and seethed for a second and then took a deep breath, his face composed but a hard look still in his eyes. He turned around swiftly and grabbed something from the desk, throwing it to the bed and heading for the door. It was paper and a pencil.

"Write to your friends, Danny." He said in a stony voice. "By all means, tell them that your here. I don't even care if they come see you. You should be fully healed by Monday, then you'll be out of my hair."

He swung the door open and I caught his mumble as he left.

"Don't even know why I bothered."

Then he was gone and I was alone.


	9. Chapter 9

_Dear Sam and Tucker,_

_You've probably noticed that I'm not at school today. I'm not sure when I'll be back. I'm at Vlad's house right now, and I'll probably be here until my injuries heal. Sorry I broke my promise, Sam. Since you both are most likely freaking out right now, I'll just go ahead a spit it out. Dad went crazy over the two D's on my report card and beat the crap out of me. Worse, Plasmius stepped in, right in the middle of it. He was furious, more than I've ever seen him before. He knocked Dad out took me to his mansion when I passed out. He said you guys can come see me if you want. He probably won't be very nice though (more so than usual). We had a fight and well..._

_Look, I don't know what to do. The truth is, Vlad's been treating me more like a son than my own father. He gave me a nice room, patched me up, has been oddly nice to me (minus the fight) and hasn't even restrained my ghost powers. Not to mention saving me from my newly abusive dad. I don't know why I did it, but I threw it all back in his face. I was just so angry and upset, I didn't know how to handle it. It's like Vlad and my Dad have switched places and I can't take it! Vlad is supposed to be the villain! _

_I feel like a total jerk for treating Vlad the way I did. I couldn't get it out of my head that he was just tricking me, so I yelled at him. Instead of blasting me to kingdom come, he just told me to write to you guys and then he stomped out of the room. I think he regrets helping me, and that make me more upset than anything else. I don't want him to hate me, even though he is a fruitloop. _

_He said he doesn't want me going back to Fenton Works, and when I called him on a plot to get me to live with him, he got mad. He said he doesn't care where I live as long as it's not with my Dad. He was even mad at you two for not telling anyone about this sooner, even though I tried to explain that I asked you not too. Why does he care? How does sending me away to live with someone else benefit him? _

_As crazy as it sounds, I don't think he's plotting anything. _

_I could really use you're advice, guys. Please get over here as soon as possible. _

_-Danny _


	10. Chapter 10

Whoa, long time no update? I like Adversus Adverto more, so bleh. Although I have every intention of finishing Unexpected Abuse with justice. For some reason people actually like this thing.

Now I normally don't ask, but reviews with your advice will go a long way with this particular story. Any help to make the story and character emotions more real is a definite thumbs UP.

And oh dear GAWD! This monster has somehow turned into a _very light _DannyxSam. Gag. I can feel my VladxDanny side screaming in agony.

* * *

"Danny!"

I jumped violently, rattling my wounds. Sam and Tucker burst into the room, open shock and horror on their faces.

"Guys?" I said in a tired voice, blinking my fatigue away as I slowly pulled myself from a third nap.

They were standing in front of my bed, gaping like a pair of fish as their wide eyes took me in. I was still trying to figure out how they got here so fast.

"Didn't I, like, send that letter an hour ago?" I scratched my head, trying to ignore the headache.

"Danny..." Sam breathed, looking frozen.

"Dude," Tucker managed weakly, "Your...your _Dad _did this to you?"

I squirmed in the sheets uncomfortably, looking away from them and staring at Vlad's empty desk.

"Yeah." I admitted quietly, for the first time.

The silence in the room was palpable. It felt like there was a wall between me and my friends. I couldn't help but curl into myself a bit, wishing I didn't feel so lonely despite my friends being five feet from me.

But then Sam broke it, walking toward me with confident strides. Before I could blush or protest, she was sitting next to me, her arms thrown around my shoulders in a hug. Suddenly, I didn't feel the sting of disturbed wounds anymore, only her soft skin against mine. My breathe caught, stomach doing the tango. I didn't even glare at Tucker for smirking at us.

"I knew this would happen. I _knew _it." she scolded herself vehemently, turning her amethyst eyes to me. "Are you okay?"

I shrugged in response, honestly not knowing the answer. I didn't even have the heart to give her a look at the standard question.

Tucker slowly joined us at my bedside, giving my injuries stricken glances. I forced myself to sit up, tenderly resting my aching chest against the feather pillows. There was another silence between us, but this time it was comfortable, something I could tolerate. Sam and Tucker looked lost themselves, still trying to face the truth. I couldn't blame them. This whole thing was so crazy.

"What...what are you gonna do?" Tucker asked the question I've been wondering since 8 o'clock this morning.

"I don't know." I mumbled, worrying away at the sheets.

"You could stay at my place." he offered hopefully. I stared at him.

"Tucker. Your mom's a social worker. Of course I can't go there."

"But that would be the perfect place!" Sam instantly argued, "Vlad's right, you can't go back to your house-No. Danny you can't."

She cut me off before I could start, her glare daring me to tell her otherwise.

"But...but he was just a little ang-"

"Danny, stop making excuses for him. Do you _really_ want to go back there?" she demanded an answer, "Do you?"

"...No." I said quietly.

"Please Danny. If you go back there he'll kill you." She practically begged, not convinced by my answer.

"That's what Vlad said."

"Well then Vlad was right." she stated bluntly, "He may be a fruitloop, but he's right. If you go back there your Dad will end up killing you. You _can't _go back."

"But...but my Mom..." I trailed off, not needing to finish.

What would my Mom say if she returned home to find her son in the foster care system and her husband behind bars?

Tucker and Sam glanced at each other, looking as worried as I felt.

"Danny." Sam began gently, "You can't go back to that house and continue being your Dad's punching bag till your Mom gets home. You can't do that to yourself."

"But when she gets home-"

"You don't know what will happen when she gets home. Your Dad could go back to normal, yeah, but could you look him in the face knowing that he's abused you and still keep that from your Mom? She'd be furious."

"I know." I croaked, my throat burning, "That's what I'm worried about. She'll be so angry and they'll get a divorce and our family will be completely broken."

"Dude, your family was broken the instant your Dad crossed the line and hit you." Tucker said in a hard voice, one you couldn't argue with.

I twisted the sheets in my hands, biting my lip painfully to keep my emotions at bay. I wish this had never happened. Why did Dad have to turn into an abusive jerk?

"I...I don't know what to do." I whispered.

"Tucker's mom..." Sam began hesitantly.

"No." I immediately refused, "I'm not gonna get swept up in that foster care deal and move to California. If my mom came home to that..."

"Your Mom's gonna come home to a crappy situation what ever way you look at it." Tucker said matter-of-factly.

And I knew he was right. If listened to my friends and went with the responsible decision, I wouldn't go back to my Dad. I would either tell Tucker's Mom and let the social workers deal with it or I'd...I'd stay with Vlad. If he let me.

But as screwed up, backwards, and ridiculous as it sounds, a small part of me _does _want to return home. Even though I know Dad's not gonna quit, I figure I can deal with it as long as Mom comes home and everything is okay. Just imagining the look on her face if she finds out what Dad's done is enough to make me go back. She'd be so upset.

Then again, I don't relish returning to my father's misplaced aggression.

"I feel like the Box ghost." I mumbled.

"What?" Tucker's head swiveled in my direction, looking totally lost.

"The Box ghost." A shadow of a smile flitted across my lips as I looked up at my friends. "You know, misplaced aggression? I'm my Dad's Box ghost."

It took a moment, but when it finally clicked they chuckled in a "that's really not funny but I can't help but laugh anyways" way. I felt my smirk widen.

"So how did you guys get here so fast?" I asked, playing off the lighter mood.

"A freaky green mailman ghost showed up in the middle of Lancer's class." Sam rolled her eyes. "He gave me the letter and after we both read it we headed straight for Mayor Master's mansion. Lancer about had a heart attack."

"He just showed up right in the middle of class?" I gapped.

"Yep. It was the perfect way to get out of reading The Awakening." Tucker snickered.

I leaned back into the pillows, closing my eyes and exhaling slowly.

"Well then, I guess your welcome." I shrugged lightly.

"Don't be." Sam quickly frowned. "I'd rather read The Awakening twenty times than have this." she gestured to my bandages.

The comment was a downer, swiftly bringing us all back to the problem at hand. What was going to happen to me? Where was I going to go? What was I going to do? I stared out the window silently, not wanting to ask those questions just yet.

"Your...your Dad came into the school." Tucker spoke up quietly.

I twisted my head in his direction so fast my neck cracked.

"What?" I croaked. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Tucker shuffled his feet, Sam wouldn't look me in the eye. I got a really bad feeling in the bottom of my stomach.

"It's why we rushed over here so fast. He was talking to the principal and he...he looked really mad." Tucker replied, talking to the lamp on the bedside table.

"I've never seen your Dad like that." Sam said quietly.

"What did he say? Is he looking for me?" I grappled for answers, already imagining his furious face in my head.

"Um...well he was saying something about you running away, and when Principal Ishiyama got worried and asked if he wanted her to alert the investigators, he kinda blew up on her, saying he had already taken care of it."

I stared at their uncomfortable expressions blankly, feeling the flat drop of disappointment flood through me. I should have known he wouldn't care. I should have known he would try to cover it up. As far as he knows, I was kidnapped by the Wisconsin ghost, and he doesn't even give a damn.

"Danny..." Sam began gently. I looked over at her, expressionless.

"Maybe you should call Jazz."

"I have, but she won't pick up." I tried to ignore the feeling of abandonment. Maybe Jazz didn't want anything to do with me either.

"Just try again. I know she'll want to hear about this."

"She's just gonna go all psychologist on me."

"She's gonna try and help you."

"She's in college. She won't have time to deal with my problems."

"Trust me Danny, she'll make time."

I stared at Sam, not even knowing why I was being so difficult. She stared right back, refusing to break eye contact.

"I'll tell her if you want me too." she offered.

I got the sudden mental image of Jazz answering the phone and my throat seizing up as I tried to tell her our Dad was abusive. There was no way I'd be able to do that. I finally dropped my stare, nodding numbly and finally succumbing to her request.

"Do you need her number?" I offered.

"No, I think I've still got it in my cell." she mumbled, scrolling through the screen till she found it.

I sat patiently, waiting for her not to pick up. Tucker played with lamp, poking the heavy chain and watching it swing like a pendulum.

"Hello? Jazz?"

She answered?

"No, It's Sam."

I heard some muffled talking and Sam glanced at me.

"Yeah, he's next to me."

After a moment, she handed me the cell phone.

"She wants to apologize to you."

I rose an eye brow in confusion but put the phone to my ear.

"Jazz?"

"Danny! I'm so sorry I haven't called you back!"

I felt a wave of relief at just the sound of her voice, all of my worries about her avoiding me disappearing on the spot. Maybe it was because Jazz was always the one who solved my problems, but I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders, knowing by just the tone of her voice that she'd help me again this time, like she always has.

"I switched dorms with a friend of mine and lost my phone in the move." she continued. "I finally got it back and there were at least six messages from you. What's going on?"

"Uh..." my mouth was suddenly very dry.

"I tried calling back, but it always went straight to voice mail." she said during my hesitation.

"That's cause Dad took my phone away."

"He took your phone away? Why?" she sounded surprised.

"He said I wasn't _responsible_ enough to handle it." my voice cracked slightly.

There was silence on the other end of the line. I could almost see my sister's shrewd expression. She's always been so perceptive.

"Danny." she began slowly. "Are you okay?"

I thrust the phone into Sam's hands, biting my lip harshly and squeezing my eyes shut, pushing my emotions back. I don't know why her simple question caused such a strong reaction from me, but I suddenly couldn't talk anymore, my throat too tight.

Sam looked at me worriedly and then turned away, getting up and walking to the other end of the room, talking quietly. I wanted to bury my head under the covers, knowing she was revealing to Jazz what she'd missed while away at college.

Jazz's voice steadily rose, going so loud that I could hear it from across the room, but I couldn't make any words out. Sam was grimacing, talking in a calm voice as Jazz continued to spazz out on the other end of the line.

"She wants to talk to you." Sam said to me, coming to my bedside.

I knew this was coming, so I coughed a couple times to clear my throat and bucked up, talking the phone from Sam.

"Danny! Oh Danny, I can't believe this is happening! I have to get over there right away! This is so unpredictable! How long has this been going on? God, I can't believe I didn't call you back sooner! What-I don't-I just-"

"Jazz, calm down!" I yelled, stopping her frantic stuttering in its tracks.

She took a shaky breathe, obviously on the edge of crying.

"You know how Mom went to Germany, right?"

"Yeah." She sniffed.

"Well, he started acting kinda funny about a month after she left. He...he kept making odd comments...just...saying funny things." I voice died down. I didn't want to tell her about how he constantly berated me for being a less than perfect son.

I coughed again, clearing my throat.

"It was like he couldn't live without Mom, and eventually...well you know. I came home with two D's on my report card and he wasn't happy about that." But when I felt a surge to defend myself I couldn't repress it, and words started tumbling out of my mouth.

"But I did have _three_ D's and I worked really hard and managed to get rid of one. I would have gotten the other two up but I was so busy cleaning and ghost fighting that I was practically falling over from exhaustion. I swear I tried as hard as I could but there wasn't enough time and before I knew it-"

"Danny! Danny!" Jazz yelled, stemming my waterfall of excuses.

I swallowed thickly, worried, waiting for her to tell me I hadn't tried hard enough.

"You don't have to defend yourself to me." She said in a gentle voice. "I know you work hard and I know you carry more responsibilities than anyone I know. I'll always be proud of you Danny. Remember that."

I smiled for the first time in ages, a warm feeling budding in my chest that made me feel ten times lighter. I didn't know what to say to that, and that was a good thing cause I don't think I could have said anything even if I wanted to.

"Now, where are you? I'm coming to help you." she continued, voice still gentle.

"I'm at Vlad's-"

"Your WHAT?"

Good voice gone.

"Look, Jazz, It's not what you think-" A full out grin was on my face now, a giddy feeling leaping in my chest that was somehow making her reaction five times funnier.

"Vlad's a fruitloop! Why on earth aren't you at Sam or Tucker's?"

"Well..."

"Danny. Why are you at Vlad's."

I sighed heavily.

"He busted in while Dad was beating the crap out of me and saved me, okay? That why I'm here."

Jazz was very quiet after that. Actually, everything was quiet after that. Not even Sam or Tucker moved.

"He...He saved you?" she sounded like she had trouble putting the sentence together.

"Yeah. If it wasn't for him, I'd be in worse shape than I already am."

She was quiet again, obviously thinking.

"Do you know why he helped you?"

"No. He won't tell me."

She went on one of her thinking trips again. I don't know how I could tell over the phone, but this silence was significantly different from the other two silences. She was thinking hard about something.

"What are you going to do now?" she eventually asked.

"That's the problem. I don't know." My grim mood was returning, the dark mysterious future coming to loom over me again.

"I think you should stay with Vlad." she said matter of factly, quickly shattering any mood I was feeling and leaving me with a total blank.

"Huh?"

"I said I think you should stay with Vlad."

"Uh...are we talking about the same Vlad here?"

"Think about it Danny. Why would Vlad save you from anything?"

"Because he wants to make me his pet-son thing?"

"Well judging from the fact that your still at his house and both Sam and Tucker are there with you, he obviously hasn't tried to take advantage of your situation, has he?"

"No." I admitted in a mumble.

"So, it's easy to draw the conclusion that he actually cares for your well being, and given the fact that you both share the same secret, he would probably be the best choice for you to stay with until the courts can deal with Dad."

"Yeah, but he's such a frui-wait, the courts? You're-you're not gonna turn Dad in, are you?"

She was quiet for a moment, but her answer was hard and definitive.

"Yes Danny, I am. I know he's our father, but this can't be ignored."

"But what about Mom?" I asked desperately.

"You think Mom isn't going to want to know about this? This is serious Danny. What if he turns on Mom?"

"He's not gonna 'turn on Mom'" I scoffed.

"Yeah? Well no one ever thought he'd abuse his son either. Mom would want to know, trust me. She thinks the world of you Danny, she'd never want you getting hurt, especially not by Dad."

I squirmed in my seat, wanting to argue but not having the heart.

"What's gonna happen to Dad?" I asked quietly.

She sighed heavily, her voice weighted.

"If convicted, he'll serve time in prison. He'll also go through various therapy sessions to deal with anger, attachment, things of that nature. A parent usually doesn't harm their child out of spite, Danny. Given the right help, Dad will go back to his old self."

"Then why did he even _do _any of this?" I asked bitterly, feeling my anger bubble.

"I don't know." she said quietly after a pause. "I don't know."

We both sat in silence, a chaotic swirl of emotions twisting between us from both ends. I pulled absentmindedly at a loose string on the sheets, simmering in my anger and sadness, slowly feeling it leak away.

"Danny?" Jazz asked gently, her voice quiet.

"Hmm?"

"Please stay with Vlad. I know you two have a rough past, but I really think it would be the best choice. I'll deal with Dad, don't worry about that. I want you to worry about yourself for once."

I stopped pulling at the string, finally letting out a stream of air, my emotions deflating.

"It's not that simple. Vlad took me in and...I was just so upset and confused...well we had a fight, so I don't even think he wants to deal with me anymore." I said sadly, my heart heavy.

"Trust me Danny, the day Vlad doesn't want to deal with you is the day Skulker wants to join PETA. Just talk to him. I'll bet anything he's genuinely worried about you, even if he won't admit it."

It seemed like a stretch for Plasmius, but I didn't argue with her.

"You promise you'll stay? Going into the foster care system is the last thing you need. At least you _know_ Vlad."

"Yeah, better than anyone on earth." I grumbled.

"Danny." Jazz sighed.

"Okay, okay, I'll talk to him. If he lets me stay, then I'll stay."

"Good." She breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll be in Amity Park in about three days, so I'll see you then. Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

I couldn't help but smile here, hearing that question again and knowing an answer this time.

"Jazz, I've got you, Sam, and Tucker. Hell, I've even got my arch enemy helping me. I'll be fine."

I knew she was smiling on the other end of the phone, and our good bye didn't really seem like a good bye. Before long, Sam's cell phone was back in her pocket and my two best friends were looking at me with expectant faces.

"So what's up?" Tucker asked nervously.

"Jazz is going to deal with Dad and I'm going to talk to Vlad about staying here." I said in a sure voice, my decision made.

Sam and Tucker breathed a sigh of relief, Tucker falling onto the bed eagle sprawled.

"I thought we were gonna have to talk you out of going back to your Dad's." Sam smiled weakly.

"Jazz convinced me otherwise."

"Is she coming here?" Tucker asked, lifting his head from the bed to look at me.

"She'll be here in about three days."

We sat quietly together, enjoying each other's company while we could.

"I'm guessing you're not gonna be at school tomorrow?" Tucker asked, knowing the answer.

"No. I don't think so." I replied sadly, giving him a small smile.

Tucker sighed mournfully, dropping his head back to the bed.

"Lancer's is so _boring _without you in it." he groaned.

"Your just upset cause you've become Dash's new punching back." Sam laughed.

"Duh."

I laughed with Sam, that feeling of normalcy slowly settling in as we joked with each other like we always did.

I relaxed in the company of my friends, laughing and sharing stories. We talked about nothing and everything until the sun started setting. We didn't even realize the time until Tucker glanced at one of his many gadgets.

"Whoa, it's almost 8 o'clock." Tucker blinked in surprise as he stared at his watch/phone/Internet/satellite TV/kitchen appliance/and whatever else-thing on his wrist.

"Oops. My parents are gonna flip." Sam grinned, obvious wracked with guilt.

"Yeah, and we skipped school early too." Tucker sounded kinda nervous.

"Well in about three days you can tell your parents what's going on and then you won't be in trouble. Well, Sam might still be. Actually, your parents might throw a party." I looked over to see her frown.

"That's not funny cause you know they would."

Me and Tucker laughed.

"Guess that's real bummer for you Danny." he snickered, shooting me and Sam sly glances. "Your gonna have crappy in-laws."

"Tucker!" We yelled in unison, a blush rising to the cue on my face.

Sam tried to smother him with a pillow.

Eventually, after many long good byes, my two greatest friends in the world trooped out the door, leaving multiple promises to return the next day. Too soon I was alone in my darkening room, but this time I didn't cower at the shadows. I looked out the window to see the sun sliding into the horizon, my resolve hardened as butterflies began to dance in my stomach.

It was time to talk to Vlad.


	11. Chapter 11

Okay, so maybe personally going to find Vlad wasn't the greatest idea in the world.

I clutched my chest, struggling to keep my breathing under control. The hallways were dark, completely devoid of life. They seemed to stretch on for miles with every corner I turned, leading to either a new set of stairs or another dead end. I had no problem cursing Vlad and his stupid mansion. It was like a damn corn maze in here.

As I dragged myself down the halls, I couldn't stop my apprehension from creeping up, the dark shadows making me uncomfortable. I wouldn't let it stop me though, and pressed on. As soon as I found Vlad it would be fine. But still, I couldn't stop myself from glancing behind me every few steps, just to make sure.

I was right on the verge of just breaking things until he came to find me himself when I heard footsteps. They were muffled by the carpet, but that was no problem for me. I twisted around, glaring into the blackness. As far as I could see, I was alone, but the footsteps were getting closer. It was probably just a butler or something. I couldn't stop the slight fear that danced up my limbs. It wasn't until I heard a voice to match the steps that I relaxed.

"Daniel? What on Earth are you doing out of bed?" Vlad melted from the shadows, a stern expression on his face.

"I was-"

"You're not trying to run off to Fenton Works, are you?" his tone was severe, and the angry flare in his eye was easy to detect even in this darkness.

"No, I was looking for you." I put a hand on my hip, glaring right back even though I was about to fall over from fatigue.

He blinked in surprise for a moment, but it was instantly gone.

"You didn't have to wander down three floors to find me. I was just coming to check on you." He said in a dry tone, crossing his arms.

"Yeah? Well I figured you couldn't stand to look at me, actually." I bit back, hiding my hurt behind a thick layer of anger. But Vlad, ever the nosy jerk, wasn't fooled.

He didn't comment, instead giving me a raised eye brow in silent contemplation. Without a word he transformed into Plasmius, instantly setting all my nerves to battle mode on instinct. However, before I could raise my fists, he was standing in front of me and scooping my aching body into his arms.

"Hey! Put me down!"

"So you can walk up three flights of stairs on your own? I don't think so."

I was left to grumble under my breathe as he took flight, trying not to appear too grateful. He took seconds to pass through halls that took me ages to shuffle down. If only my strength had been up to par, then I could've flown myself.

It wasn't too long before we were back in my designated room, the papers still piled on the desk and the bed still ruffled from when Tucker had jumped on it. Vlad was unusually careful as he set me down, taking care not to jostle my broken ribs. I risked a glance at his expression, but it was like trying to judge the emotions of a rock.

"Now, what was so important that you had to wander around my mansion aimlessly?" He looked down at me, transforming back into Masters as he did so.

I squirmed, stalling as long as I could. How was I supposed to tell Plasmius that I was sorry. After all the hell he's put me through, _he _should be the one to say sorry first. I frowned, wondering yet again if staying here was the best option.

"Danny?"

But then again, judging by his most recent actions, maybe he's not quite the fruitloop I thought he was. After all, he did save me from Dad, and he even took the time to patch me up. And given his words during our fight, it's easy to tell that he really isn't looking to take advantage of this.

But still, this is Vlad Master's we're talking about. How long could I live under his roof going by his rules?

"Danny, if you've got something to say then kindly spit it out. I'm not going to wait forever."

"Um..."

I guess I was the jerk this time around, throwing everything he did for me back in his face. He may deserve a lot of things, but he didn't deserve my anger this time around.

"I uh..."

And who knows, maybe he'll take note of this and apologize for being a jerk later on down the road. Or better yet, he'll stop being such a jerk all together. That might be reaching kinda high though.

"Danny-"

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry." I said quickly.

"What?" Vlad looked as though he misheard me.

"Sorry. For, you know, flipping out this morning. I was just really angry, and I didn't mean to take it out on you. I...I do want to stay here. If you let me." My eyes were glued to the sheets in front of me, unable to look up at him.

Vlad was silent for a short moment, leaving the tick of the clock to fill the space between us.

"Apology accepted." he said in an slightly smug tone, as though he knew I'd cave eventually.

I burned with anger, but pushed it away for now. I was too tired to start another fight. I had the feeling he wasn't finished talking anyways, and when he sat down on the bed next to me, I knew I was right.

"There are many things to consider, if you stay here." he said in a steadier, serious voice.

"I know, and just to make one thing clear, I have no intention of becoming your minion or pet or whatever." I glared, making this my only stipulation.

Vlad raised an amused eye brow, but nodded all the same.

"Yes, I suppose that's one thing to consider, but I was talking about something else entirely my dear boy."

I stared at him, my brain to tired to try and figure out what he was eluding to.

"What are you going to do about your father?"

"Jazz is taking care of that." I replied instantly.

"I wasn't aware that Jasmine was involved with all of this." That look in his eye when he found out Sam and Tucker had known all along came back.

"We just called her today. Me, Sam, and Tucker. I tried calling her ages ago, but she had lost her phone or something." I held my hands up defensively. "She said she's gonna deal with Dad."

"And what does that mean exactly? If I have Jack banging on my front door, demanding you back, I must say, my answer will be a violent one." he warned, a hard look in his eye.

"No no no, nothing like that. She uh...she's gonna turn him in." I squirmed, glancing away from Vlad for a moment.

"She's turning him in?" he repeated, his tone incredulous.

"Yeah." I sighed. "She said he might have to do some jail time, and then he'd go through a bunch of therapy sessions and stuff. Jazz said...that I'd be better off staying with you than going into the foster care system."

"Your sister is a smart girl." He smiled, sounding pleased.

I rolled my eyes.

"Well don't get too comfy. Once my dad is done with all his therapy or whatever he's gonna do, I'm going back. He'll be my old Dad again, so there won't be anything to worry about."

Vlad frowned, looking throughly unconvinced.

"I hope, for his sake, what you say will be true." he said darkly.

I had to repress a shiver, Vlad's blunt threat scaring me slightly. I know very well that he hold up on his threats, especially ones that concern my Dad.

"Jazz is coming in three days." I said, to break the tense silence and Vlad's slowly returning homicidal demeanor.

"Is she?" he muttered distractedly.

I sighed impatiently.

"Look, he'll be just fine once he gets some help. He's not gonna try and hurt me again."

"And how do you know this, Danny? What makes you so sure?" he snapped.

"Cause he's my Dad."

"That's a pathetic excuse."

I sat back into the pillows, my defiant anger wanting to scream in protest, but my aching ribs were putting up a good argument. Instead I glared at the bed, trying to concoct some reason as to why with was all the bed's fault.

We both simmered in silence for a moment, each in our own little world, until Vlad relinquished his anger with a heavy sigh.

"Arguing over the future will get us no where." he murmured, "At least I know you'll be fine for a while."

I looked up at him curiously, but didn't bother to say anything in response.

"I suppose there will eventually be a court hearing." he looked at me.

"Yeah, I guess." I shrugged, not wanting to think about it.

Vlad paused for a moment, obviously considering the gentlest approach to what ever it was he was going to ask next.

"We will need evidence to support our claims." He said slowly.

"Great. Then go find some evid-oh." It took a moment to click, but when it finally did I felt my stomach drop six feet under. The look in his eye said everything.

"I..." I swallowed thickly, "I'm gonna have to testify against him, aren't I."

"Not necessarily." He said, standing up and striding over to his desk.

"In most cases, it's difficult to get evidence of the abuse itself because the victim usually doesn't tell anyone." here he paused in rummaging through his desk drawers and gave me a pointed look.

"But occasionally," he stood straight, fiddling with a small silver square, "the opportunity for hard evidence arises."

He stood next to my bed again and held up a small silver camera.

"I'm sorry Danny, but unless you want to testify in person, Jazz will need pictures of the abuse to hold up her case in court."

I stared at the little camera, extreme discomfort bubbling in me. I had to have my picture taken with all the bruises? It made this whole situation feel more permanent somehow, like I'd never be able to shake it off completely.

"Do I have to?" I asked, my voice sounding pitiful even in my own ears.

"It's the only way to guarantee his conviction." he replied.

"But I don't want my Dad to be convicted." I argued weakly.

"Don't you want him to get the help he needs?"

"Well, yeah." I mumbled.

"Then we need these pictures. I need to change your bandages anyways." He said matter of factly, setting the camera on the table.

I didn't say much of anything as Vlad took the pictures, feeling oddly exposed. These were gonna be shown to a jury full of strangers? They're gonna think I'm so weak. Vlad was quick, moving on to the next injury after the snap of a photo. Soon, it was over, and I was wrapped up in clean new bandages and back under the covers. I still couldn't stop myself from glancing at the camera that held the offending pictures though. Eventually, Vlad just returned the camera to his desk.

"You need to rest." He said sternly. "You've over exerted yourself today. Your wounds should be farther along the healing process by now. I suppose it's a good thing though. It gave us better pictures, you could say." Vlad's voice trailed off and he stared out the window.

"Yipee." I hated those stupid pictures.

It was then that I realized Vlad hadn't technically given me an answer yet as to my staying here for a while, and knowing Vlad, if I didn't get a specific answer from him he'd twist something around and suddenly I'd be in a worse hell. I quickly remedied this.

"So...I can stay here?"

"Of course you can, it was never even a question." Vlad waved offhandedly.

I blinked and couldn't repress a budding smile, a curious suspicion in my gut.

"You never actually intended on letting me leave, did you?" I asked.

Vlad glanced back at me with an affirmative smirk, and I expanded into a grin. It wasn't particularly funny, but it was something I'd expect from Vlad, and I couldn't describe the relief of having something that I knew would remain constant. Vlad was always going to be a manipulative, controlling, stuck-up fruitloop, and there was no getting around that.

"What are you grinning at?" Vlad asked suspiciously, my infectious smile spreading to him.

"Nothing." I said lightly.

"Mhmm." He smirked disbelievingly, "Go to sleep and stop your plotting."

"Whatever. Plotting's your thing." I rolled my eyes, settling down into the soft covers.

Vlad looked down at me with a fond smile and soft eyes. I decided if Vlad looked like that more often, than maybe living here for a while wouldn't be so bad. But, you know, this is Vlad were talking about.

I turned over in the silken sheets as Vlad turned the bedside light off. I was more comfortable than I thought I'd be as the room was plunged into a soft darkness, wrapping me in a cocoon rather than permeating my mind with unpleasant flashbacks. Vlad's muffled footsteps crept away, the hinges to the ornate door silent.

"Good night, Danny." He said quietly, and shut the door with a click.


	12. Chapter 12

Hello, patient readers! Sorry for the long wait, and I'll just leave it at that.

Enjoy!

* * *

Finally, it was Sunday morning, the day I could leave that stupid bed.

Vlad, unsurprisingly, has been in a rather cheery mood these past two day. I'm a little unsure with how to handle this. He's obviously happy that my Dad turned out to be a jerk, which means his chances with Mom just upped about ten points and to top it off, he's got me living with him. Willingly. Naturally, he's on could nine. I should be a pissy, annoying little brat to him, seeing as the reason for his happiness is my life a living hell, but...I just can't manage it. At least not all the time. It's nice to be around someone who's smiling all day instead of glaring, and I think Vlad is genuinely happy to see me, which is beyond refreshing. Weird, cause it's Vlad, but still pretty awesome.

I gotta admit, I'm liking the attention.

"Good morning Daniel." Vlad said in a light voice, a maid carrying medical supplies behind him.

"Go away." I grumbled, sinking into the sinfully soft pillows. I was excited to finally be able to leave the bed, yeah, but not at 8 o'clock in the morning.

"Oh, come now Daniel. You've been sleeping in till noon these past few days. I can't allow you to fall into such a bad habit, now can I?" he sounded closer.

I grunted in response, yanking the sheets over my head. However, Vlad objected this action and proceeded to rip the covers off without regret, leaving me to the chilly air.

"Vlaaad." I whined, grappling for the warm sheets.

"Stop your complaining. It's about time you had breakfast at a decent time." he dismissed the maid, pulling a stool next to the bed and pushing his sleeves back.

I laid on my back with a sigh, scowling up at his smiling face. No one should be smiling this early in the morning.

"I can take the bandages off myself, you know." I grumbled.

Vlad simply hummed in response, pulling me up into a sitting position and dropping the old bandages into a garbage bag the maid had brought. I relented my grumpy attitude with a sigh, honestly too content and tired to keep it up. It's hard to be grumpy when you wake up in a million dollar bed with a billionaire ready to spoil you rotten.

"Guess that nasty plant barf actually worked." I commented, looking down at my smooth chest, not an injury in sight.

"Indeed." Vlad nodded, prodding a few spots where the bruising had been more severe. Then he sat up straight, placing a hand on my chest and back.

"Take a deep breathe, Daniel."

He nodded in satisfaction when my chest expanded without an ounce of pain, lungs filling up and exhaling smoothly.

"I suppose that's everything." he smiled, standing up and taking the bag of old bandages with him.

Grinning like a maniac, I jumped out of the bed, stepping on my two legs in triumph. I could feel my ghost half itching to let loose under my skin, but was forced to contain myself as Vlad started talking.

"Breakfast is down stairs. Once your dressed a maid will show you the way."

"Uh-huh." I muttered, not really listening. It was good to have my old strength back.

"I assume you're friends are coming over again?"

"What?"

"You're friends Daniel." he repeated patiently.

"Oh. Yeah, probably. And Jazz too! Although she probably won't be here till later." The thought suddenly perked me up even more. I hadn't seen my sister in ages.

"Good. You'll most likely start school tomorrow or Tuesday then."

There were a lot of problems with that, such as explaining how a run away suddenly turns up for school out of no where. I had a feeling the school would eventually be dragged into all this as well, but I couldn't let that get me down.

I think Vlad said a few more pointless things, but I wasn't listening. The second that door snapped shut I jumped in the air and felt the cool rings slide across my chest, calling back my ghost half from the depths of my soul.

With a bounding laugh I rocketed out the window, feeling the warm sunshine hit my face as I flew over the clouds. In seconds, I was thousands of feet high, the trees and buildings minuscule in my vision. Wind was pulling my hair back, whipping it in all directions as I looped and twisted and fell, letting my spectral tail stretch long behind me.

It felt so good to be out in the fresh air, high in the sky where nothing but the clouds and lack of gravity mattered. I had fun free falling, letting the wind whip my body around in any direction it wanted. Probably wasn't the best idea, having just healed a few broken ribs, but it was fun.

Reluctantly, I dragged myself back to earth, floating back in through the window and feeling fully recharged. I didn't even complain about wearing the lame dress pants Vlad bought. He didn't own blue jeans and refused to send a servant out to buy some, instead wasting his money on uncomfortable dress clothes in my size. Fruitloop. Maybe Jazz could pick up some clothes for me.

Walking was too subdued for my energized body, so opted to fly through the floors on my own, leaving the maid standing oblivious at my door. With a secretive laugh, I sped off, not having a clue where I was going and not really caring. Once I hit the first floor, it wasn't that hard to find the kitchens though. In my ghost form, I could smell the sizzling bacon and fried eggs from a mile away. The doors were soon in front of my face and I didn't hesitate to fly in.

"Why am I not surprised to see you couldn't handle walking." Vlad's flat voice came from behind a newspaper, a half empty plate in front of him.

"Why walk when you can fly?" I smiled, letting the rings wash over me and falling into a chair with a thump. Almost immediately a fresh, hot plate was brought out from the kitchens and placed it front of me, full of bacon, eggs, and toast. I could get used to this.

"When are your friends coming over?" Vlad asked, a slight grimace in his voice.

"Dunno. They probably aren't even up yet."

"Hm." he sipped his coffee, expression expertly blank even though I was sure he was still grimacing on the inside.

I rolled my eyes and started inhaling the food, not pausing for the slightest breath. I caught Vlad's disapproving glare, but ignored it. I was hungry, dammit.

"I have to stop by the office for a few hours. My house had better still be standing by the time I get back."

"What are you gonna do if it's not? Ground me?" I laughed.

Vlad smiled smugly, leaning forward on the table with the air of a cat having caught the mouse.

"I might."

I dropped my fork, staring at him and feeling all the warm, good feelings of the morning float away.

"No way! You can't do that."

"Of course I can. In three days time I'll be your legal guardian and can punish you as I see fit."

I got real quiet at that comment. Grounding? Okay, no big deal. Mom does it all the time anyway. But this is Vlad we're talking about. His idea of punishment is probably locking me away in some cellar or handing me off to Skulker for kicks.

"Maybe it was a bad idea to stay here."

"Oh please Daniel, it's not as if I'm going to lock you in a cage."

"You would."

Vlad shook his head, telling me to finish my food before disappearing behind the newspaper again. I stared at him for a moment, not really sure what I was looking for in the tiny black print hiding his expression from me. Eventually, I decided I didn't really care, returning to my food with a flippant shrug.

An hour or so later, Vlad wandered into the living room I was occupying, decked out in a full suit. He brushed invisible dirt off his arm, glancing up at me before reaching down and grabbing a suitcase I hadn't seen on the floor.

"There's a computer in the den upstairs, along with a TV containing every channel know to man. Heaven forbid, but if you still find a way to get bored, I'm sure there are plenty of things you can do outside. Lou-Anne, the maid you abandoned this morning, will help you with anything you need." He glanced at his watch, frowning slightly and turning to leave.

Assuming he was done yakking, I stood up and stretched, only to see him pause half way out the door and turn to me with a deadpanned look.

"And Daniel?"

"Yeah?" I asked warily.

"Stay out of my Lab, my room, and my private study."

I rolled my eyes as he left, yawning briefly and standing in the near silence of the house. Vlad's echoing footsteps grew fainter and fainter, and with the final click of the door, all was quiet.

I stood there for a moment, looking around the empty room and violently beating away the sudden onslaught of loneliness. I'd just been left alone in the mansion of a billionaire. This was every teenager's dream. So, shaking my head of any pointless thoughts, I marched up the stairs to find that den he was talking about.

After an hour of wasting my life on channel flipping and solitaire, I decided to stroll the halls as a self guided tour. I figured if I was gonna be living here for a while, it would probably be a good idea to at least know where the bathroom was.

Some doors were locked, which prompted me to stick my head through them via intangibility. Unfortunately, my devious curiosity was usually let down, finding nothing more exciting than empty bedrooms or the occasional cleaning closet.

Time ticked by slowly, leaving me ridiculously bored in this huge mansion, despite Vlad's gallant hopes. I glanced at all the clocks I passed, toying with the idea of just waking up Sam and Tucker myself. I passed a few chicks dusting immaculate statues. They gave me small, secretive smiles, as though pleased about something. It was kinda creepy, so I tried to avoid them.

Lou-Anne was only slightly less creepy than the other servants. It seemed she didn't have a clue about what Vlad did in his spare time, such as plotting world domination, but she was very current with the staff of the house, all of who were human.

"I can tell you Danny, we're all very happy your staying with Mr. Masters." she smiled, the grin lighting up her young face. "He's doesn't have company over often, and it's plain to all of us staff that he's very lonely. It's not good for a man his age to be so lonely, see?"

"Tell me about it." I muttered, following as she lead me down the halls. She had stumbled upon me ambling through the halls in my self guided tour and insisted upon showing me the rest of the house.

"He's been the happiest I've seen him in all my years of employment these past few days, but don't tell him I said that."

"Sure thing."

"I do hope you'll be staying long Danny. It's so nice for us maids to see a young face around here too. It certainly livens up this ancient old mansion."

"Hmm." I didn't know how to respond to her comments, my conflicting emotions too tangled to work out at the moment.

"Oh, this here is the drawing room. The first mayor of Amity Park had a daughter who loved to paint, and always set her studio up in this room because of the view over town." She lead me to the large window, covering half the wall. "You can see almost all Amity Park from here."

I followed her dreamy gaze over town, looking at all of the little buildings with indifference. She seemed raptured by the city scape, but I didn't see what was so fascinating about it. My bored eyes roamed over the city, coming to a halt when I spotted a more familiar building. It was a normal brick house, but there was a giant spider work of metal equipment protruding far into the sky, setting the odd house apart from the rest as a clear eye sore. My stomach flipped and I turned away from the window, walking out the door with a dark expression on my face.

Lou-Anne looked a little startled at my suddenly stormy mood, and glanced out the window again to see what was wrong. I caught a flicker of realization cross her brown eyes when she spotted my house, but that just made my mood even worse. How much did these gossipy maids know about my private life?

"Danny? Danny, wait!"

I debated ignoring her and turning a corner to disappear, but I didn't see how that would help matters. It's not like it's her fault my Dad inexplicably hates me. I felt my throat tighten up a bit and scowled, so not about to break down and cry. Reluctantly, I slowed down my fast pace, coughing violently in my arm and forcing my more bitter emotions away.

"Danny, I'm sorry about that. I didn't think-"

"It's fine." I cut her off, not wanting to talk about it.

She bit her lip for a moment, but eventually stood straight, resuming the tour with a last concerned look thrown my way. I followed behind her, trying to pay attention but having trouble concentrating. I couldn't stop thinking about my Dad.

After what seemed like hours of walking in circles and non stop babble coming from Lou-Anne, three great chimes echoed all throughout the mansion. She stopped mid sentence, looking around in confusion.

"There's someone at the door?" she frowned, speaking as though it were impossible.

"Sam and Tucker!" I shouted, a grin finally lighting up my face.

Without another word I turned around and ran down a few halls, having been paying enough attention to at least know how to get back down stairs. I slid down the banister, earning a disapproving frown from some stuffy butler who was slowly walking down the steps to answer the door. With the coordination of a gymnast (thanks to my years with ghost powers), I landed smoothly on both feet and came to a sliding halt in front of the massive oak door, not wasting ten seconds before yanking it open.

"Danny!"

"Sam! Tucker!"

After a sappy hug fest because really, we hadn't seen each other in a whole two days, they instantly began pelting me with questions.

"Dude, how'd it go?"

"Is Vlad letting you stay here?"

"What's going to happen to you now?"

"Are you feeling any better?"

"How'd you heal so fast?"

"Whoa, guys, slow down!" I held up my hands, the grin still on my face. "Come sit down and I'll tell you everything."

But before I could lead them to the nearest sitting room, a few timid footsteps came from behind me. Sam and Tucker looked over my shoulder and I turned around to see Lou-Anne staring at my friends curiously. She'd obviously never seen so many teenagers in this mansion before.

"Oh, hey, this is Lou-Anne. Lou-Anne, this is Sam and Tucker." And, with tedious introductions out of the way, I grabbed my friends' wrists and dragged them to the closest couch.

"So," Sam began, staring at me with a smile on her face, "I'm guessing Vlad let you stay?"

"Yup."

"I knew he would. He's like, crazy about you." Tucker said smugly.

"Way to make him sound less creepy, Tuck."

He grinned.

"So what about Jazz and your Dad?"

It's fascinating how quickly good moods can be dampened with just one, little, three-letter word. A sigh escaped my lips, shoulders involuntarily sagging at the question. I so didn't want to think about this.

"Jazz is coming today, but she probably won't be here till later this evening. Princeton is pretty far. I don't know what she's gonna do with Dad, but there's going to be a court hearing and stuff." I stared down at my feet.

"Are you...are you going to protest against him?" Sam asked gently.

"No. We uh, we have evidence of the abuse and Vlad said that would be enough to get me out of protesting."

"Evidence?" Tucker scrunched up his face. Sam stomped on his foot though, giving him a not so subtle glare. I didn't elaborate. Sam would tell him later.

"How did you heal so fast?"

"Vlad had some plant remedy stuff. It looked gross, but it worked with my ghost half or something and sped up the healing process." I shrugged.

"Ah. Well that's good."

"Is it?" Sam looked at Tucker. "What if someone comes by to check on you? You know, if they need proof of your claims or something?"

"They don't need to. We have other evidence. And Vlad's a billionaire. If someone does come by, I'm sure he'll bribe them away." I rubbed my arm absentmindedly.

"Hm...Yeah, I guess."

"How's Vlad treating you?" Tucker asked.

"Actually, pretty good. He's been on cloud nine since this whole thing, of course, but it's kinda nice, you know. At least he's not glaring."

Tucker nodded empathetically, his eyes quickly lighting up.

"Even better, he's a _billionaire_. You must be living the life, dude!"

A smile quirked my lips.

"Pretty much. I've been sleeping in and eating like a king for the past three days." I grinned, voice smug.

Sam smirked and rolled her eyes, but Tucker started drooling, probably imagining all the meat Vlad could buy with his money.

"Better be careful Danny. If you turn into some spoiled rich kid again I'll stuff your locker full of moldy food."

"I'll just have Tucker eat it."

"Moldy vegetables."

"Crap."

Tucker snorted in laughter, shaking his head.

"When's Vlad getting back?" he asked.

"Dunno, he said he'd only be a couple hours at the office, so I guess he could be here anytime." I shrugged.

"Well since he's the mayor he'll probably be gone a lot, huh? Good thing he's a billionaire or else you'd be bored stiff" Sam smiled.

"Uh, actually, I've already managed to get bored. Pretty bad, huh?" I winced.

"Only you would find a way to get bored in a mansion." she said with a flat voice.

"Dude! He must have every video game known to man! How_ could_ you get bored?"

"He doesn't. He's never had kids, remember?"

"Well still, he's got a freaking football field."

"Because we're both total foot ball stars, right?" I rose an eye brow at him.

"You're missing the point, man. He's got, like, everything!"

"I know Tuck, I was kidding."

"Seriously, though, he's got a point. I'll bet the man even has a telescope hidden somewhere in here."

I perked up at Sam's comment.

"You think?"

But before we could elaborate on that promising topic, Tucker's stomach growled. Loudly.

"A little hungry, Tuck?"

"When am I not?"

"Didn't you eat before we left?" Sam gave him a classic what-the-hell look.

"Yeah." Tucker blinked at her, not understanding where she was going with that question.

I snickered behind my hand discreetly, reveling in the normalcy of my friends bantering. With Tucker's very true statement, we decided the first line of action was raiding Vlad's kitchen, although I still wanted to search for that potentially hidden telescope.

Going off memory from this morning, I took them to the dining room where Vlad and I ate breakfast. There were a couple metal, swinging doors furtively placed in the back corner and they looked promising so he helped ourselves. Tucker gasped once we stepped into the kitchen, not even realizing it when the swinging doors bumped him in the back.

"Dude..." he breathe, looking as though he were in heaven.

We had stepped into a world of chrome, or at least, that's what it looked like. Everything was silver and shining, the counter tops looking clean enough to eat off of, which they probably were. Titanium steel covered almost every surface, save for the while tiled floor.

"This place needs some color." Sam frowned, putting her hands on her hips.

"How about this spaghetti sauce?" Tucker called, and we both snapped our heads in his direction to see him already pilfering through one of the pantries.

"As long as it's meatless." She grinned, joining Tucker at the open door and dropping her mouth in shock.

"Holy crap! He could feed half of Africa with all this food!"

I walked over to my gaping friend and blinked as the massive amount of nonperishable items stacked high on the shelves. It was basically a walk in closet of food. And there was _two _of them.

"We should have raided Vlad's kitchen ages ago, man." Tucker's eyes were wide, a grin still on his face. "This is _awesome_."

"Jeez Tucker, calm down." Sam cackled, "You look like your about to have an orgasm."

"Sam, please." he began in his most pompous voice. "I wouldn't expect a vegetarian such as yourself to understand the untold powers of massive food stashes."

"Excuse me?"

"A-heh heh, okay guys!" I slid in front of Sam's simmering face, praying my surrendering smile would placate her at least a little bit. "Lets not break out in war here, please? Vlad will kick my butt if he comes home and his house is a mess."

Sam stopped for a moment, looking thoughtful at my words because she knew they could be quite literal.

"Really?" Apparently it hadn't occurred to her that just because I was living with him, I wasn't exempt from his usual tendencies.

"Really. So please, for my sake, make peace." I looked back at Tucker, but he was looking confused too.

"He wouldn't really beat you up, would he? That'd be kinda hypocritical in light of the situation."

"What?" I frowned, not understanding where their questions were coming from, "Well, I guess not really. But he did say he might ground me." I grumbled, much to Sam and Tucker's amusement.

"Dude, he said that?"

"He could, I guess." Sam shrugged, smiling, "But he'd have to catch you first."

I snorted, laughing and shaking my head.

"Well how about we don't test him just yet, seeing as I'm not even legally supposed to be here."

Thankfully, they surrendered their fight, deciding a better way to expand their energy would be to make some serious junk food, something I agreed with wholeheartedly.

"Sam, check for chocolate syrup."

"On it."

"Danny, does he have any candy in here?"

"Probably."

"Tucker, stop eating all the food."

"Darn it."

Lou-Anne came in to check on us a few times, sometimes lingering to offer her own cooking advice. Turns out she was a fairly decent chief, which instantly made Tucker fall in love with her.

Our heart-stopping, artery clogging concoction was almost complete. It just needed a few more fried foods. We were so immersed in our creation that we didn't even hear the kitchen doors swing open.

"Hey Tucker, try deep frying these Oreos." I suggested, throwing him a pack.

"What about the left over twizzlers?" He asked, holding them up.

"Meh. Yeah, sure, what the heck."

"Daniel."

We all froze.

Vlad was standing in the doorway, the deadpanned expression matching his voice. Slowly, he surveyed our frozen forms, taking in the flour covered counters and empty containers of chocolate and ice cream in the sink. Finally, his eyes settled on me, raising an eye brow. Probably at the flour smudges on my nose and in my hair. Sam had thought it would be funny to make me look like a ghost.

"Uh...hi Vlad." I waved, quickly realizing I still had a dripping spoon in my hand and promptly hiding it behind my back.

He looked around for a few more moments, finally letting out a sigh.

"Well I guess it could be worse. At least the mess is in the kitchen. And it better stay there, too." He said more to me, the warning clear in his voice.

I grinned nervously.

"No problem." I saluted, trying to look as innocent as possible.

He lingered for a few more moments, giving us all a last look before rolling his eyes and turning to leave, the silver doors swinging shut behind him.

The tension in the air hung for a few more moments before we all glanced at each other, breaking down into nervous laughter as we relaxed once more.

"Dude, I thought for sure we were goners." Tucker laughed, dropping a few dough-covered Oreos into the vat of oil.

"Nah, Vlad can't touch us, Tuck," Sam said smartly, "Unlike Danny, we don't have ghost halves to speed up any healing processes."

"Great, so I'm the only one lucky enough to be his punching bag."

"Sorry Danny."

I snorted at the dramatic look of misery on her face, ducking when she threw another handful of flour at me. Tucker soon announced that the fried foods were done, and with careful tension, we delicately placed the final touches on our heart stopping master piece. For a few hanging seconds, we stepped back and admired our collective work, nodding to each other like a bunch of stuffy billionaires until we broke down in laughter.

"Alright, where're the utensils. Let me show you rookies how a real master eats." Tucker grinned, fingers twitching.

"Sometimes I worry about you Tucker." Sam shook her head, giving him a slightly disgusted look when he found a spoon and immediately started devouring all the food in sight.

In the end, me and Sam couldn't bring ourselves to eat very much. Tucker's insatiable appetite soon erased mine, which was fine with him because he didn't have a problem with eating it all anyways. Lou-Anne came in again just as Tucker was licking the last few crumbs from the plate, looking at our mess with wide eyes.

"Has Mister Masters come in to see this?"

"Yup."

"And...and he didn't get mad?"

"Uh...he wasn't all that surprised, really."

"Oh. Well that's a relief." She smiled. "I can call up a few maids and we'll have this mess cleaned up in a jiffy."

Me and Sam glanced at each other and grabbed Tucker, not about to linger and get recruited into the cleaning brigade.

"Thanks Lou-Anne!" I called as we all ran out the door, putting as much space between us and the destroyed kitchen as possible.

We didn't get very far though. Not because we were stopped or anything, but because Tucker looked about ready to fall over. Me and Sam laughed as he clutched his stomach, groaning and falling into the nearest couch, which happened to be in a den to the right of us.

"Dude..." he groaned again.

"You shouldn't have eaten so much." Sam said smartly.

"If I throw up I'll make sure it's on you." he moaned.

"Could you actually walk all the way over to where I'm sitting?" She snickered, "You must have gained twenty pounds."

Tucker just groaned again.

With our favorite techo geek currently grounded to that couch, we all decided to just stay in the den and hang out. Tucker caught me up on all the latest news at school while Sam went to get something. She returned with a stuffed backpack I hadn't noticed her carrying when she first got here, and revealed it to be all the homework I missed.

"Uh...I'm supposed to be a runaway. Don't I, like, get out of this?"

"Nope. You'll be back by this week and you'll have to make it up then anyways, so I grabbed two copies of all the assignments in the classes we share so you can get a head start."

"Oh. Thanks." I said grudgingly. Admittedly, it was nice that I got a head start. I just really didn't want to do it.

We stayed there for a good two hours, long enough for Tucker to fall asleep, me and Sam to cover him in paper wads, and Tucker to wake back up in a screaming fit about being covered in spiders. The sun was just starting to set as I wrapped up the last page of homework, with help from Sam. So that was how Vlad found us for the second time, holed up in one of his many dens laughing and helping/copying homework assignments.

"Daniel?"

All three of us looked up from our spots on the floor with similar expressions of surprise, the last bit of math homework below us. Vlad surveyed the mini-study group with a small smile of satisfaction, obviously preferring us to studying rather than devouring all his food stores and make a mess of the kitchen.

"Jasmine is here." he finished, stepping back and letting my sister in.

She walked in and I suddenly didn't really notice anything else but her glowing smile. She was in a classy pencil skirt and button up blouse, a light sweater over her shoulders. I was surprised to see her hair cut short, above her shoulders even, but it looked good on her. I felt like I hadn't seen her in ages.

"Danny." she smiled, eyes sparkling.

"Jazz!" I jumped up, shamelessly running forward and throwing my arms around her shoulders. I'd gotten taller since I last saw her.

Immediately, in a very Jazz like way, she started babbling and apologizing for taking so long to arrive and for not answering her phone weeks ago and how this was so unexpected but thank goodness I'm alright and how she was going to make sure nothing like this ever happened agai-

And in a very Danny like way I told her to shut up.

She squeezed me one last time, sighing and holding me out to get a good look at me. However, she frowned in confusion as she surveyed my healthy form.

"I thought you couldn't heal quickly in human form?"

"I can't. Vlad used some voodoo mush stuff that activated some ghost anit-something or another." I shrugged, catching Vlad roll his eyes from behind Jazz.

"Oh." She said a little stiffly, still looking troubled. It wasn't that hard to figure out why.

"I'm not going to testify, Jazz." I said in a quieter voice. "We already took care of the evidence issue. Vlad's got a camera upstairs."

"Oh." She breathed in relief, smiling wanly. "That must have been hard, Danny."

I shrugged, not really wanting to talk about it. Jazz, for once, got the hint. She smiled and gave me one last hug, stepping back and glancing at Vlad.

"I'm going to talk with Vlad about turning Dad in and all the legalities of this issue. I'm assuming you don't want to be apart of the conversation?"

"Heck no."

She smiled in understanding, squeezing my shoulder.

"I'm also staying here for a while. I talked to my professors, and I can take all my courses online for as long as I need to."

"They let you do that?" I rose an eyebrow. All I've ever heard about college professors is that they're mean and unfair, and Jazz is a freshman no less.

"You get special treatment when your grades are that of a genius." She grinned.

Ah. I rolled my eyes, though the playful banter was slightly ruined because I couldn't help but remember what Dad had said about my less than stellar grades. It didn't help that the traitorous thought of maybe he was right after all kept popping up.

"Dinner is ready in the kitchen when you all would like to eat." Vlad spoke up, but then he gave us a slightly scathing look. "And please keep the food on your plates this time."

Naturally, Sam and Tucker grinned at this, probably earning the permanent title of irritating troublemakers from him.

"Sweet! Lets go eat!" Tucker jumped up, grabbing mine and Sam's arms before quickly heading off to the kitchen.

But Vlad had other ideas in mind, and quickly plucking me away from my friends (who loudly protested to this) and turned me back to the den. It was like I was on a friggin mary-go-round.

"You can eat after you've picked up this mess. You've tortured my maids enough for the day." he said in a calm, but stern voice, lightly pushing me towards the strewn mess of paper wads all over the floor.

"Right," I winced, "Uh, my bad."

Sam and Tucker trudged back to the den to help me quickly throw all the paper in the trash. I looked up for a moment and caught Vlad's eye for the last time before he disappeared behind a corner; Jazz was already talking in a hushed voice. With a frown, I grabbed more paper, making as much noise as I could when throwing them away. I didn't want to hear what they were talking about.


	13. Chapter 13

Aaaah! I hate third person! Everyone is so OOC! D:

I put it in 3rd PoV cause I wanna keep this story in Danny's PoV, but I can't exactly tell a story from his point of view when he isn't there. So you'll all have to deal with my atrocious third person.

On a side note, this story is becoming increasingly difficult to write...hopefully I didn't mess anything up.

Enjoy?

* * *

Vlad lead Jazz down a few different hallways, silent and stoic but still retaining his usual regal air. She followed behind him with an almost curious expression, her faint footsteps lost in the empty air of the mansion. He turned another corner and held open a door for her. When she entered the room it was instantly recognized as his private study, still exactly the same as when she had been there years ago.

"Not one for redecoration, are you?" she smiled lamely, attempting some type of light conversation to end the stony silence.

He turned to her with an eye brow raised, but didn't comment on her sad attempt to lift the slight awkwardness of the situation, instead getting right to business.

"Have you spoke with the police yet?"

"Yes," she sighed. "Danny doesn't know it, but I arrived in Amity this morning to sort that all out. The faster we get things moving the sooner it'll all be over. ...It's likely Dad's sitting in a holding cell down at the station right now. Those pictures you sent me were... Well, I'd expect social services sometime tomorrow morning."

"I hired a lawyer for the impending trial, if we happen to need him or not."

She nodded, gratitude clear on her face. Vlad leaned back against his desk, offering her a chair. When she muttered a quick thank you and sat down, the exhaustion in her posture became obvious to the billionaire, despite her trying to hide it.

"What do you think will happen?" he asked, his vague wording easy to understand for the studying psychologist. Jazz looked away, a sullen expression coming into her eyes as she spoke.

"It's likely Dad will get jail time, judging by the extent of those injuries in the photos. And it's likely the jail time will exceed Mom's trip in Germany."

"That's to be expected, of course."

"Yes, but it's worse than that." She looked up at him, struggling to hide the sorrow in her eyes. "The courts probably won't let Dad have Danny back."

"Good." Vlad said bluntly, scowling.

Jazz didn't look surprised by his reply, but the reproachful glare made it clear that she didn't agree with him.

"Vlad, I don't think Danny wou-"

"You know as well as I do that Danny's judgment isn't exactly reliable in emotional situations like this, and if your going to try and tell me Jack can change too, then I'm going to hold your's in question as well."

"You just-" But she was interrupted again, this time by his exasperated sigh.

"Yes. I do want Daniel to live here. But my own selfish desires are not the point of this conversation. For what we are discussing now, I speak only of Danny's welfare."

"And what do you know of his welfare, Vlad?" Jazz snapped, instantly bristling. "Not to long ago it was you slamming him into walls and punching him across the face."

"That's completely different." Vlad scowled, his tone icy.

"No, it's really not. You wanted what you wanted and the only thing standing in your way was my little brother."

"Jasmine, I'm prepared to tolerate a lot from you tonight, but if you go so far as to say I enjoyed injuring Daniel my temper will not be so easy to restrain."

A simmering silence fell between them, a hard glare in both pairs of eyes. Vlad remained stubborn, but eventually Jazz's stare turned wary, and finally she let her anger go with a sigh.

"I told Danny to stay here." she began, her tone quiet, "Don't make me regret that, Vlad."

Vlad continued to remain silent, his even stare never moving from the girl, although his anger trickled away at her tone. There was another thick silence between them, one that linger much longer than any of the others.

"How's he been doing?" Jazz finally asked, her voice still quiet.

"As well as can be expected. When he's got me to deal with or his friends to distract him he does well enough, but when he's alone it's obvious what he's thinking about."

She nodded in understanding, sighing and running her fingers through her short hair.

"He's a strong boy though," Vlad continued, almost talking to himself, "I'm sure he'll make it through this as well as anything else in his life."

"He shouldn't have to."

"No. But since when has life ever been the fair and just world he so often envisions?"

Jazz didn't reply to that, changing the subject after another lengthy silence.

"He's not going to like hearing Dad's sentence. Especially the expected length of jail time."

"Of course he isn't." Vlad rolled his eyes, "But then he wouldn't be happy with any punishment Jack would receive."

"You sound almost bitter about that."

"Jack doesn't deserve him." Vlad said tonelessly, though his eyes gave away the anger behind his words. "That bumbling oaf has no idea what he has."

Jazz was silent again, knowing full well the weight and significance of Vlad's comment. There was nothing she could say to make the situation any better though. It wasn't for a long time later that she finally replied, the anger mostly gone from his face and only bitterness remaining.

"Danny needs his father, Vlad." Jazz spoke up quietly.

His eyes tightened for a moment, but he didn't say a word.

"You know what he's going to do when he hears how long the jail time will be."

"What do you want me to do about it?" Vlad snapped, knowing full well what she wanted.

"It's not about what I want you to do, it's what Danny wants, and what _he's_ going to ask of you."

"He's emotionally distraught. Giving into his requests at a time like this would be utterly foolish."

"He believes in second chances Vlad. And frankly, you owe it to him."

Vlad got a dangerous look in his eye at that last comment, but unlike what Jazz excepted, he didn't blast her out of the castle.

"I may owe the boy for his habit of second chances, but that doesn't mean I should repay him by giving into what can only hurt him in the end. It's shameful that you're even suggesting it."

"Dad deserves a second chance more than you did!" She raised her voice, loosing control for a moment. "You're just not going to give it to him out of hatred."

"And your only asking for it out of desperation. You don't want Jack to be in jail for several months because you know Daniel will be staying with me during that time, which _of course _is what my plan has been all along." Vlad sneered, sarcasm dripping from his tone.

"He won't be staying with you the entire time because Mom will come home and he'll live with her."

"Really? And where are they going to live exactly? Something tells me Maddie will be hard pressed to keep paying the bills on her own."

"We have relatives she can stay with!"

"But don't all your relatives live out of state? Would Maddie want to uproot Danny's life even more and take him away from his friends? It would be much simpler for her and the boy to just stay here, and she'll see that too."

"So this _is _your plan after all!" Jazz stood up, fire in her eyes. "Taking advantage of my Dad's mistake and moving in on Mom and Danny?"

"Jasmine, I just want what's best for Danny and Maddie!" Vlad roared, furious offense in his expression. "Is that really so hard to believe?"

She didn't reply, anger stewing below the surface. They glared daggers at each other for a long moment before Vlad sighed, rubbing his temples and moving to sit behind the desk. Jazz watched him like a hawk, but eventually sat down in her own seat as well. They continued to stare at each other, the thick silence broken only by a ticking clock in the back ground. Vlad was giving her a long measured look, thinking heavily as Jazz waited. The stalemate was looking to last forever before he finally sighed again, a defeated expression ghosting over his face.

"If it's what you and Daniel want...then fine. But only if he at least receives a year of probation."

"Fine."

Vlad shook his head, something close to disappointment in his eyes.

"You're blinding yourself Jasmine, and some would say it would be best for me to find Daniel a new legal caretaker."

"I can take care of my little brother."

"...if you insist."

Jazz frowned.

"He'll have to go through months of therapy, you know. I wouldn't let Danny go back to him if there was no intervention."

"And you think months of therapy alone will 'cure' Jack? Perhaps to lean too heavily on your intended major."

"And perhaps you lean too heavily on your hatred of my Dad. Sitting in a cell for 12 months isn't going to accomplish anything."

But Vlad just shook his head, knowing they were getting nowhere. He gave her one last look of disappointment, fully aware of her challenging glare, before changing the subject. He hated talking in circles anyways.

"What about his school?"

"By tomorrow you'll be his legal temporary guardian," Jazz replied in a curt tone, "And as such it will be your job to inform the principle of the situation, unless you'd like me-"

"No. I'll take care of it."

"He should start Tuesday at the latest."

"I'd already planned for him to."

She nodded, getting a far away look in her eye before a sudden thought hit her.

"Can I have the number of that lawyer you hired? I want to help out with the case."

"Don't you have college work to take care of too?" Vlad raised an eye brow, but none-the-less scratched the number down on a slip of paper.

"I can handle it." she replied lightly, taking the slip and sticking it in her pocket.

Vlad sat back in his chair, waiting for anything else Jasmine had to say. However, it became clear that she had nothing more to discuss so he stood up and gestured to the door.

"If we're done here, shall I show you to your room?"

"Thank you." she muttered, standing and quickly following him as he led the way again.

"Oh wait, I want to say good night to Danny..."

He looked back at her with a tired, but none the less amused expression.

"I'm not telling you to go to bed, Jasmine. I just want to show you where your room is."

"Um...right."

She followed behind him silently, her thoughts too distracted to really remember the path they were walking. Vlad's stoic posture gave away nothing, as usual. He was more of an enigma than ever, willingly taking care of her brother, yet giving into her request that he spare Jack the jail time. They both knew he could put her father away for a _lot _longer than twelve months if he wanted to. So why had he given in?

Jazz's frown deepened, recalling his words from only a few minutes ago. _You're blinding yourself Jasmine, and some would say it would be best for me to find Daniel a new legal caretaker._ That made no sense, coming from him. Well, no, he might have said that as a warning. If she interferes too much, he can always get rid of her. But he had honored her request by the end of the conversation anyways, so how could that mean he was planning something? Honestly, his words were bothering her so much because a small part of her brain was saying he was right. Did her Dad deserve a second chance, and at the risk of Danny's health no less?

Jazz clenched her fists, feeling more confused than she had in a long time. Doubt was not something she was used to, especially in something as big as her family. Mom was always over protective, Dad was always the goofy dork who meant well, and Danny was always the silent hero. And Vlad...well he certainly isn't supposed to be what he's being now. But then, Dad shouldn't have been abusive either.

"This is your room. Danny's is just down the hall, where I _hope _he's at right now." She gave a start at her thoughts be interrupted so suddenly, but then after a sheepish smile, peered beyond the open doorway.

Her room was lavished with navy blues and grays. Two large windows brought in the night sky, moon light bathing the carpets. She looked around in wonder to see her suitcases already resting at the foot of the large bed, and even her school books set out on the desk.

"Breakfast will be served at eight o'clock sharp, and I suggest you wake your brother. He's not exactly a morning person."

Jazz gave a small smirk, knowing full well how much of a morning person her brother wasn't.

"Thank you for doing all of this, Vlad." she said in a subdue voice, finally turning to look at him.

"Of course." he replied, voice as emotionless as ever.

A ghost of a frown shadowed over Jazz's face for a moment, but she knew she wasn't going to get anything else from his mask of stone, and let it go with a sigh.

"Where is his room?"

"Two doors down. If at all you need to speak with me, I will probably be in the study we just left. Good night, Jasmine."

And with a small nod, he turned around and walked into the darkened halls, leaving Jazz to glance at her room for a moment before heading off to wish her brother a pleasant slumber.


	14. Chapter 14

Wooow. It didn't realize it's been around five months since I updated this story. -_-' Oops.

Tell me what you all think! Oh, and for those of you who read it, I expect I'll be updating Domination next. Sorry Adversus Adverto fans. :(

Enjoy! And if you will, tell me what you think about Danny and Vlad's interactions cause I am _really _having a hard time pinning down their father/son relationship in this story. :d I expect it's because it's not pompous pep. *is bricked*

* * *

"Yaaaaahhenghnn...morning Vlad."

"Daniel, your manner's are atrocious."

"What'd I do?"

"Cover your mouth when you yawn, child."

"Oh...my bad."

Vlad rolled his eyes as he continued to scan the newspaper, taking a sip of coffee. It looked like I just made it in time for breakfast, which was awesome cause I was starving again. After snagging a random seat and waiting as patiently as possible, a cook came out and set a plate of biscuits and gravy in front of me, complete with orange juice. I was just about to dig in when I noticed Vlad staring at me..._pointedly_. I scowled for a moment, reluctantly removing my elbows from the table and eating like a civilized human being. Guess it wouldn't hurt to listen to the guy _once_ in a while. He smiled in approval. Fruitloop.

"Hey, where's Jazz?" I asked, careful to swallow my food first. Last thing I wanted was for him to overreact and make good on those grounding threats...which was still weird.

"I assume she's asleep. Although, I had expected her to wake before you."

"Yeah, my sister is kind of a monster in the mornings, but she'll never admit it."

"You don't say?" The honest surprise hiding behind his eyes made me smirk.

"Mmhm."

"So how is it that you managed to wake yourself up at eight o'clock in the morning? If I recall, you were being particularly difficult a few days ago."

"I smelled food."

"Your priorities rather frighten me, dear boy."

"It's what I do."

Vlad shook his head, returning to the paper as I continued to devour the steamy biscuits and thick gravy. In all honestly, I hadn't realized it was so early. I just...couldn't sleep very well. I figured it wouldn't hurt to actually get up at what Vlad considered to be a 'decent time.' Vlad was mostly silent through breakfast, seeming preoccupied by thoughts or waiting for something. I didn't mind too much. It still felt a little weird to be here willingly. Here I was eating breakfast in the house of my arch enemy as though it were the most normal thing in the world. It was like I was in a parallel universe.

Then again, I'm probably just not used to being in such a ritzy place and having a billionaire fawn over me. I'm sure the novelty will wear off in the next couple days and we'll both be back to clawing each other's throats out. That or Vlad will just get tired of me.

The thought made me pause, a frown slowly dragging my face down. My food seemed colder. Out of the corner of my eye I caught Vlad peer at me from over the top of his paper, a little disconcerted.

"Something the matter, Daniel?"

"...No." I replied, taking a bite of biscuit as a distraction.

He continued to stare at me like the creeper he is. It was clear he didn't believe me in the slightest, but that wasn't a surprise. When it became obvious that I didn't intend to elaborate though, he returned to his paper and I returned to my thoughts.

"Daniel." Vlad's voice came out from behind his paper. Again.

"Hm?"

"Just thought I should forewarn you, a social worker is supposed to stop by today."

"A...social worker?" I asked, the dread in my voice obvious.

"Mmhm."

"...oh."

Vlad stilled, folding the paper slightly and looking at me with a small smirk.

"She's not going to eat you, my boy. There's no reason to be nervous."

"Yeah." Because the first thing I want to do is talk to some random stranger whose probably just gonna twist my words so Dad'll get sent to jail longer.

Vlad frowned, not satisfied with my response. I couldn't help it though. The last thing I wanted to do was talk to some lady about my problems.

"...We're going to need to reapply your bandages as well." he said slowly, reluctantly moving on with the conversation.

"Why?"

"Because as far as this social worker knows, you are a normal human boy without accelerated healing abilities. It would be more than suspicious if you have no wounds when the pictures Jasmine sent to child services say otherwise."

"Ah. Yeah that could be a problem. ...Will I have to stay in my room too?" I frowned, so not looking forward to that.

"Until the social worker leaves, I'm afraid so little badger," Vlad finally folded the paper and gave me his full attention. I watched as an impish smirk stole across his face, "Luckily for you, though, I'm off work for the next few days, so we'll have plenty of time to, as you young folks say, 'hang out.'"

There were a lot of weird things about that statement, the first and foremost being his attempt to use teenage lingo. I couldn't help but snort at that one.

"You're such a dork."

"I fail to see what you mean."

"My point exactly."

Vlad scowled for a moment, which had me itching to laugh again.

"You'll be starting school tomorrow as well." he said, metaphorically turning his nose up to my snickering. Well, literally too.

"Okay, but what are you going to tell the school office? Dad told them I ran away."

"They'll need to be enlightened on the situation, of course. I'll drive you to school tomorrow and meet with the principal then."

I was afraid of that. Guess it's not a surprise though. At least the teachers might take pity on me and lighten up with the detentions. That would be nice. Then his second sentence fully registered in my mind.

"Wait, you're gonna drive me to school? Like in a limo?" I cringed.

"No dear boy, we're going to walk," he rolled his eyes, "Of course we're going to take a limo."

Stuck up jerk. Not everyone is used to fancy cars, especially not me. The last thing I needed was to show up at school in a limo with _the _Vlad Masters. I could only shudder at the attention that would bring.

"Uh...can we take something a little moreinconspicuous?"

Vlad smirked, easily figuring out my problem with the flashy entrance.

"Well, I suppose we could take the Lamborghini."

"...Yes Vlad. That's exactly what I meant. Take the Lamborghini. After all, it's just as subtle as, oh, say a flying purple football in front of a 'hidden' portal or something. Truly brilliant."

"Are you mocking me, Daniel?"

"Of course not, what makes you think that?"

"Hm. Well at least your banter is improving."

Jazz came in a good hour and a half later, but by then we were done eating and in one of his hugely fancy bathrooms. Thus, she had no idea where we were. It took her another thirty minutes to locate us, and by then she came in looking pretty frazzled.

"Danny! There you are! I've been looking all over for you." she stopped when she noticed Vlad wrapping gauze around my bare chest. "...Er...what are you doing?"

"Reapplying Daniel's bandages so the social worker doesn't get suspicious."

"Oh. Right." poor Jazz looked a little _too _frazzled. I decided to tease her so I wouldn't think about the stupid social worker.

"Wow Jazz, what time is it? You sleep well?"

She turned and half scowled at me, putting her hands on her hips.

"I was tired from the trip. I didn't mean to sleep in late."

"Ooo, so defensive. It's okay if you're not a morning person, Jazz."

"Danny-!"

"Daniel, stop annoying your sister. It's giving _me _a headache."

I shrugged, turning away from Jazz as she rolled her eyes. She cast me a fond smirk though, one I returned with a wink. We might enjoy getting on each others nerves (at least I do), but me and my sister know each other enough to not really get bothered by it. Guess it's just a sibling thing though.

Vlad wrapped the last bit of gauze around my arm, pinning it shut and helping me off the counter even though I didn't really need it. I tried not to mess up Vlad's handiwork, but the bandaged crinkled when I moved around. Jazz watched me with a sad smile.

"Am I gonna have to wear this stuff at school tomorrow?" I winced.

"I think we can get away with just a few bandaids. Since you were injured in your human form, the heavy scarring will do most of the talking should anyone doubt what happened to you." Vlad replied, packing the left over medical supplies away. "You should still wrap your chest, though. Child services may not know that you had two broken ribs, but they do know you were severely bruised. Don't look so crestfallen, little badger, at least the wrappings will be hidden under your shirt."

"I guess..."

Vlad placed a hand on my back, a small supporting smile ghosting over his face as he led me out the door. Jazz quickly followed behind us, not about to get lost again. The trip up to my room seemed shorter this time. Before long I was striding across the carpet and climbing into that stupid bed again, wishing I'd borrowed one of Tucker's PDA's to play with.

"I need to go down to the station and speak with the sheriff." Jazz announced, patting her hair straight and smoothing out any wrinkles in her shirt. "I'm not sure how long I'll be gone, but I expect to be back around one or two."

She was talking mostly to me, and I nodded when she met my eyes. I didn't bother asking why she had to talk to the sheriff cause I could pretty much guess. Vlad stepped up to the bed, setting a few books on the bedside table as though he expected me to read them.

"Make sure you remember that you're injured," He said, pushing me so I was laying on the pillows instead of sitting up. "You should be able to play that off pretty well."

"Jeez Vlad, first you tell me to get out of bed in the morning and now you're pushing me in. Can you make up your mind already?"

"Did you hear anything I just said?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, remember to play injured, yadda yadda yadda. Hey, you got anything fun for me to do while I'm confined here?"

Vlad sighed, putting his fingertips to his temples.

"You are quite the handful, little badger."

I snorted.

"You're the idiot who wants kids."

Vlad rolled his eyes, but I caught the small smirk he was hiding. He threw a book titled Brave New World at me.

"Read this. It should keep your teenage mind occupied."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, dear boy." he replied, laughing at some joke that I wasn't getting. I muttered fruitloop when he walked over to Jazz, who was watching us with an amused smile for some reason. I inwardly shrugged and absently flipped through the pages of my new book. Did he seriously expect me to read this?

"...didn't say what time. I expect she should be arriving any minute."

"I'll keep you posted."

"Thanks Vlad."

Jazz walked up to me with a soft smile, ruffling my hair when I looked up at her with quirked eyebrows.

"I'll be back later, little brother. At least _try _to cooperate with the social worker?"

"I make no promises."

She huffed in a hopeless sort of way, fond smile flitting across her face as she stood straight. I watched her leave the extravagant room, door shutting behind her with a light snap. Me and Vlad were left alone again, and the two of us automatically glanced at each other. Personally, I thought the silence was a little awkward, but Vlad, ever the master of smoothness, just leaned against the door with his arms crossed and gave me a long, contemplative stare. Which really didn't help the awkward thing, by the way.

"There's no need to be nervous, Danny." he said after a long stretch of quiet.

"I'm not nervous."

"Yes you are."

I scowled. It was so annoying when he did that.

"She's just going to ask you a couple of questions. It won't take very long."

"Yeah, but anything I say is gonna put Dad behind bars for even longer." I tried not to snap, but he was starting to tread on thin ice. Especially since there was no doubt in my mind that he wantedmy Dad to go to jail for as long as possible.

"She's here to evaluate you," his eyes narrowed. "Contrary to your belief, not everyone's motives revolve around putting your father in jail."

"No. Just yours."

Whatever retort Vlad had died on his lips. Turns out Jazz wasn't kidding when she said the social worker would be here any minute. A knock from behind the closed door quickly cut off our budding argument, followed by a stuffy butler's voice.

"Excuse me Sir, but there is a guest in the lobby who claims to have an appointment with you. Shall I send her away?"

Vlad glanced at the door for a moment, standing straight and brushing the wrinkles out of his suit. He looked at me one last time with a stony face and exited the room. I just heard his voice before the door closed.

"No, no, I'll tend to her. Tell the driver to pull..."

When the room was silent once more I threw the book to the bed. I was being difficult with Vlad again, but I couldn't help it. It's not like everything's gonna be peaches and cream between us just cause I'm living here temporarily. I mean, even though he did save me, he's still _Vlad_. No amount of child abuse is gonna change that.

I couldn't ignore the puddle of guilt staring to swirl in my stomach though. I didn't really believe that everything Vlad was doing for me circled around getting my Dad sent to jail. Sure, that's was probably one of his sub-motives or something, but I got the crazy impression that Vlad was helping me cause he cared. Or at least a small part of him did. Whether he cared because he wanted me as a future apprentice or because I was a fellow human being was a different matter entirely, but I tried not to focus too heavily on that.

Still, caring for the right reasons or not, he was still helping me. Based on that I should at least try to be tolerable for the guy. It was just...a little hard sometimes.

The monotone sound of muffled voices cut my thoughts off. Thanks to my heightened sense of sound, I could hear Vlad talking to the lady in a low voice, the sound of shuffling papers occasionally breaking his speech. I quickly settled into the bed, hoping I looked as though I'd been laying there for the past four days. I grabbed Brave New World at the last minute and opened it to a random page just as they walked in.

"Daniel?"

I looked up.

"This is Ms. Parisi from Amity Park social services."

"Please, call me Elizabeth." she nodded once, smiling warmly.

"She would like to have a word with you, if you're up to it."

It's funny how Vlad was saying that like I had a choice. I was tempted to respond with something sarcastic, but I didn't want to cause trouble. This situation was stressful enough to begin with. Instead I gave a small shrug, closing the book and setting it beside me. Ms. Parisi and Vlad did that adult look-at-each-other-pointlessly thing and he stepped out of the room. I did catch him send a last glance at me, though. He's always so paranoid.

The door shut with another click and now I was locked up in a room with someone else. She made her way towards the bed, heels making muffled thumps against the carpet. There was a thick folder in her arms that had my name on it. I glanced at it when she set it on the bedside table and scooted herself a chair closer to the bed.

"There we go," she sighed, smoothing out her beige skirt and taking off the matching jacket. I stared at the ginormous necklace laying against her white blouse. Women have weird fashions...

"So, Danny," she began, smiling at me as though we were best friends. I couldn't tell if she was new at this or just so used to it that smiling like that was natural by now. "How are you feeling?"

"...fantastic."

Her smile became more human like.

"I know you don't trust me very much right now, and that's okay. I just want to try and help you. Why don't you tell me about yourself? Maybe that will ease the tension."

I shrugged, not really sure what to say.

"Um, I go to Casper High."

"Oh? What grade are you in? You have a lot of friends?"

"I'm a sophomore, and I have two friends, Sam and Tucker. I've known them since kindergarten."

"It's good to have such close friends." She nodded empathetically, "That's not something everyone gets."

I shrugged again.

"What about your Mom or your sister?" she asked after a comfortable pause, "Can you tell me about them?"

"My sister is annoying."

Ms. Parisi giggled.

"I would expect something like that. Does she live with you?"

"No, she's in her first year at Princeton."

"Princeton? Goodness, she must be very smart." Ms. Parisi raised her manicured eyebrows, obviously impressed.

"Yeah." I mumbled, trying not to feel bitter. "But she came all the way home to help me with...with all of this. She said she's gonna stay here for a while and take her classes online."

"Your sister must love you very much."

"Yeah," A small smile wormed its way onto my face, "She does."

Ms. Parisi didn't push, waiting patiently until I started talking again. I guess this wasn't so bad. She was nice, at least. And she wasn't like those fake social workers on TV. I got the sense that she actually cared about me. At least a little. Then again I could just be another pay check.

"My Mom is in Germany," I continued, figuring the more I talk the sooner this is over. "She's supposed to get back in about four months."

"Germany? What's she doing all the way over there?"

"Uh..." and here come the crazy looks, "She's uh, teaching at a ghost hunting academy."

"A...ghost hunting academy?"

"Yeah. ...My parents are ghost hunters."

"Hm. ...Well that's certainly not the usual profession, but to each their own, right?" She smiled. I blinked at her.

"Do you like your parent's ghost hunting?" She asked sympathetically, probably cause I was still staring at her like a moron.

"Well," I coughed, forcing myself back to the conversation and getting over my surprise at how well she was taking this. Usually people call my parents crazy at least twice by now. "It's not..._awesome_, exactly, but I dunno. Whatever, I guess."

Wow, I sounded really intelligent.

"I'm not familiar with that profession," she said politely. I resisted the urge to snort. "Can you tell me what exactly it is that your parents do?"

You mean besides sit in the lab all day and invent things to tear me apart molecule by molecule?

"They uh, invent things. Ghost hunting weapons, mostly."

"Interesting. Do they have a private business then?"

"No, our basement is actually a lab. They spend all their time down there working on stuff."

Maybe I should have worded that differently. Ms. Parisi had a look in her eye, as though she'd just caught a piece of information she was searching for.

"I see," She said slowly, "Do you like them spending all their time in the lab?"

"Um, well, no I guess," but not for the reason your thinking, lady, "but it's not like it's that big of a deal. My parents lo-" I slowed down, thoughts of my dad searing across my vision and choking what I was about to say.

"You're parents...?" Ms. Parisi prompted tentatively after a long silence. I stared at the blankets.

"...My...my mom...she loves me." I said quietly.

There was a long, miserable silence.

"...But not your Dad?" She said softly.

I shrugged.

"...Can you tell me about your Dad, Danny?"

"No." I replied immediately, kinda snapping. I instantly felt bad though.

"I-I'm sorry-" I began, looking at her apologetically. But she shook her head with a small smile and held up her hand.

"It's okay Danny, you don't have to tell me about your Dad if you don't want to."

I stared at her for a minute, slowly turning my gaze back to the bed. I decided I liked Ms. Parisi then. She wasn't pushy.

"It's...It's not as though I don't _want _to," I said, feeling as though I had to give her _some _kind of answer, "I just...can't... He changed."

"...Is it okay if I ask how so?" she said gently.

I shrugged.

"He just...changed."

Ms. Parisi didn't push past that. With almost as much grace as Vlad, she turned the conversation onto a different subject and suddenly we were talking about something else entirely. I wasn't as engaged though, something I knew she could see. She tried to cheer me up, which the thought was kinda nice. I just couldn't stop thinking about my Dad... It wasn't much longer before Ms. Parisi was picking up her folder and standing up.

"It was nice meeting you, Danny." She said cordially, giving me a smile, "We'll see each other again, so I won't say good bye just yet."

Her heels were thumping against the carpet and had almost reached the heavy oak door before I finally worked up the courage to ask her a question. One that's been burning inside of me since the day I woke up in this bed.

"Do you know what's gonna happen to my Dad?"

She stopped, slowly turning around to face me. I tried not to look too desperate for an answer, but I think she could tell. I really need to ask Vlad how to hide my emotions better.

"There will be a trial at the end of the month. That's pretty fast for cases such as these, but it seems your Uncle has some influence in high places. ...If you're expecting things to go back to however they were before your Dad did this to you though...I wouldn't get too hopeful. I'm sorry, Danny."

I couldn't look at her; my eyes were starting to burn and I didn't trust them. I was so sick of hearing that, but then, why did I keep asking? I coughed and cleared my throat, wanting to know something else despite being afraid of the answer.

"What...what usually happens to...to people in my Dad's position."

She didn't sugar coat it.

"Child abuse is a class X felony in Illinois Danny. That can warrant between six and thirty years in jail."

At first I thought I misheard her. Mr. Parisi left when I didn't reply, saying sorry one last time and walking out the door. I didn't hear her muffled voice as she talked with Vlad in the hall. All I could hear was a loud buzzing in my ears, my stomach feeling as though it had just phase out and my mind a white blank.

"Six to thirty _years_...?" I whispered.

This couldn't be true. It was too unreal. He didn't deserve to go to jail for that long. What would my mom do? She needed him! Our family would _never _even have a _chance _of going back to normal if Dad was gone for all those years! And I know he'd get the maximum sentence cause if _Vlad _can influence the date of the trial he sure as hell is gonna influence the judges' sentence. I couldn't let this happen. My Dad couldn't go to jail for thirty years! I'd be _45 _by the time he got out!

"VLAD!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, already furious.

"You don't have to scream little badger." He walked in with his usual strut, shutting the door behind him. "You're lucky our guest is gone and didn't see your rude-"

I transformed and slammed him against the wall, quickly cutting off the rest of his sentence.

"You _can't _send my Dad to jail for thirty years." I hissed through my teeth, wishing my throat wasn't so tight.

But he just raised an eye brow, not looking alarmed in the slightest.

"I was wondering when you were going to ask about that." he said dryly.

"This isn't a joke!" I yelled, hating how my voice cracked. "I don't care about your stupid grudge, I won't let you do this to him!"

Vlad frowned, eyes narrowing. In one fluid movement he pushed me away and sent me flying into the opposite wall. My back hit the wood paneling and instantly knocked the air out of my lungs. I fell to the ground with a wince, the familiar rush of battle starting to flow through my veins.

I heard Vlad's footsteps approach and when a shadow of light lit up my peripheral vision I knew he'd transformed into Plasmius. I felt my muscles ache as I pushed myself up, but it was a good kind of ache. My blood was boiling because I was ready to defend myself for the first time in a long while.

"Go ahead, little badger." He crossed his arms and glared down at me. I glared right back. "Hit me. Try and give me a fight."

With a yell of fury I did just that. Vlad barely dodged my attack and I rounded on him in an instant. This time my hand fisted into his shoulders, sending us both flying through the wall and into a random bedroom. Vlad grabbed my wrists and threw me off, throwing an ectoblast at me for good measure. I rolled in the air and dodged the attack, retaliating with one of my own. It hit the wall and singed the curtains black when he teleported away, leaving me tense and floating in the air.

Now maybe me and Vlad beating the crap out of each other was a little hypocritical in light of recent events, but frankly, I didn't really care at the moment. I _needed _this fight, something I think Vlad understood perfectly. Besides, Sam and Tucker were right whether I wanted to believe it or not. Fights between me and Vlad were nothing like fights between me and my Dad. I could hit back with I was fighting Vlad. Speaking of which...

I sensed the air shift behind me and swung my fist around in a wild swing. My knuckles felt bone and Vlad flew into the wall, instantly alighting a rush of power in my core. I felt absolutely rejuvenated.

Even better, Vlad wasn't going lightly on me, which he quickly proved. His fist buried into my jaw and set me sailing across the room. I flipped around at the last minute and landed on my feet, sending several ectoblasts in his direction. He rose up a huge shield, deflecting every attack and rebounding it back at me. My eyes widened but I sprung into action, back flipping and twisting awkwardly to avoid my own attacks. I felt rather proud of myself when I managed to dodge them all. But then Vlad knocked me off my high horse by blasting me in the gut.

"Darn it!" I grumbled, kicking off the floor and slashing my foot in his direction, letting loose two waves of ecto-energy.

He dodged them both but not the whip I threw at him while he was distracted. It completely wrapped around his chest like it did to Bullet when Walker tried to take over my town. Vlad grunted and struggled against the ecto-energy.

"This is new." he commented. I smiled.

"It does more."

Vlad yelled in pain when the rope cackled with electricity, doubling over in the air. Unlike Bullet though, he quickly gathered up his own ecto energy and expelled it out, breaking the whip and throwing me across the room again.

"Very...good...little badger." He panted, giving me a wry grin. I smirked, rolling out the ache in my shoulders.

"Had enough yet?"

He laughed.

"You wish."

I don't know when it stopped being about my Dad and turned into a way to let all my frustration and anger out. I hadn't even realized I'd been holding so much in until now. Vlad charged and buried a fist in the ground when I dodged, teleporting again before I could attack. I twisted around and fired erratically, wanting him back so I could keep hitting something. He pulled a typical, dirty Vlad move and kicked me while my back was turned, sending me into the ground again. I scowled up at him and phased through the floor, deciding to wait for him in the room below us.

He followed, hands glowing and ready for my attack. Apparently he wasn't ready enough though cause I managed to kick him in the back of the head, throwing him off balance and landing an upper cut to the jaw. Vlad hit his head on the ceiling, so I grabbed his ankle while he was disoriented and threw him to the ground as hard as I could. Unfortunately, he wasn't as disoriented as I thought cause he quickly grabbed my shoulder before he crashed into the ground and took me with him.

We both landed in a heap on the floor, the carpet dented in from the force of our impact. I didn't waste any time cause it's rather hard to get the upper hand when fighting Vlad so I take my windows when I can get 'em. But the fight changed dramatically when I realized I had no desire to fight Vlad in a fist fight...and yet I couldn't stop.

I pinned him to the ground, landing punch after punch in whatever part of his body I could hit. I don't even know why I kept hitting him cause he clearly wasn't going to hit me back. I'd already won, right? But the attacks wouldn't stop. It was practically _senseless_. My stomach twisted every time I felt my knuckles crunch against bone, bile rising in my throat. I didn't want to hit Vlad.

"Fight back!" I screamed, brain spinning cause suddenly this was about Dad again.

My fist flew at his face, eyes closed cause I didn't want to see the hit. I felt a powerful hand close around my trembling fist though, halting the attack in an instant. Before I could open my eyes in surprise I was flying through the air, crashing _through_ the thick wall from the force of the throw. Oh yeah. I wasn't getting up from that one.

The rubble practically buried me, rolling to a dull stop and dust settling quietly in the silent air. Man my back hurt. I coughed, inhaling drywall dust and coughing harder. I contemplated just laying there till I passed out, but the knowledge that Plasmius was still lurking made me move. I couldn't stop a groan when I pushed myself up though, more rubble falling off my back and thumping to the floor.

"Ow." I grimaced, tenderly rubbing my spine.

I heard footsteps crunch through the hole I'd made and looked up through bleary eyes. He cracked his neck a few times, brushing dust off his white outfit before looking down. Vlad stared at me, expressionless. I waited for something to happen.

"Come on little badger." he sighed, holding out his hand.

He hauled me to my feet when I took his hand, catching me when I stumbled and brushing the dust off my back. I coughed again, feeling throughly spent yet completely satisfied. At least mostly. There was still the problem with my Dad.

Vlad didn't say a word, putting my arm around his shoulder and helping me fly back up to my room. I stumbled again when we touched back down on solid ground, and we both let go of our ghost halves before making our way to the bed. I quickly fell back on the soft pillows and comfy blanket, sighing in relief. Vlad sat beside me, tenderly moving his jaw and popping something.

"You pack quite a punch, you know." he winced, rubbing his face.

"Yeah? Well you let me. ...You went easy on me."

Vlad snorted.

"Of course I did. If I didn't you'd be splattered across the floor right now."

I grumbled incoherently in response, rolling over and burying my face in the plush pillows. Vlad yawned, stretching and cracking his back. We both sat there for a long time, probably thinking about the same thing. Or we at least eventually came to think about the same thing. After all it's hard to think back on a fight without thinking about the reason it started. Admittedly, I was afraid to bring it up with him though. I didn't want to hear him say my Dad deserves all those years in prison.

"You should really work on your hit first ask questions later philosophy." Vlad said calmly, "I don't intend to send your father to prison for thirty years."

Wait, what?

I paused for a moment and slowly sat up, staring at him as though he were a three legged animal.

"Huh?" I responded intelligently. Vlad smirked.

"I said I don't intend to send your father to prison for thirty years. You just assumed that I did."

I gapped at him, not quite capable of words yet. But then I remembered that this is Vlad we're talking about so he probably intends on sending him to prison for only twenty years or something stupid like that. I scowled.

"Wait a second, so do you intend to send him to prison for twenty years or something?"

"No Daniel," Vlad said scathingly, rolling his eyes. "I don't intend on letting him go to prison at all. He'll spend a year on probation, that's all."

Okay, now I was really incapable of words.

"Wha-_why_?"

"Would you like me to send him to jail for thirty years?

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, I just...don't understand."

Vlad gave me his famous, expressionless stare. I was actually tempted to shake the guy just to get _something_ from that stone face. Eventually though, a corner of his mouth lifted into a half smirk and he ruffled my hair. Then he stood up and tried to leave.

"Hey, I don't think so buddy! You're gonna give me an answer this time!" I yelled, standing up and chasing after him. Or at least I tried. My body still ached. A lot.

I groaned and fell back to the bed, wincing. When I looked up at Vlad he was half way out the door.

"Take a nap, Danny." He smiled, but it was guarded, "I'm sure you're tired from waking up so early and the sleep will help you heal faster."

Then the enigma of my life was gone and the door snapped shut with a final click.


	15. Chapter 15

See? I haven't forgotten this story. :) I just take forever. I'll even update Adversus Adverto! ...eeeeeventually.

HEY! GUESS WHAT! I made Danny and Vlad woohoo all night! :D yaaaaaaaaaaysimsex! Oh wait, I probably shouldn't talk about pompous pep in a not-pompous pep story...

* * *

"Why are you driving so fast?"

"I'm not driving fast, Daniel."

"I think I left something back in my room. We should turn around."

"We're not turning around."

"Are you sure Principle Ishiyama wanted to meet at nine? I could have sworn it was ten."

"I'm quite positive it was nine, dear boy."

I let out a nervous huff, falling back into the leather seats and resigning myself to my fate. Nothing I said was gonna get Vlad to stray from his course, a course bound for the dreaded building called Casper High. A lime green "8:45" glowed from the dashboard, some kind of weird, quiet classical music emitting from the speakers. I would have complained about this, but the current mass of butterflies swarming my stomach was making me sick anyways.

Vlad was the epitome of calm from his drivers seat. Thankfully, he submitted to my request and had chosen a simple-though no less luxurious-Volvo to drive me to school in. I was currently squirming in my seat next to him, shifting the backpack in my lap needlessly. All I could think about was the trouble all of this was going to cause me at school, counting down the neighborhoods as we got closer and closer.

"Everything is going to be fine, Daniel." Vlad said patiently, not blind to my anxiety.

"Yeah." I replied, throughly not convinced.

Vlad knew that, of course, but he also knew that there was no arguing with me so he didn't even bother trying. I chewed on my lower lip, gazing out the window as we got even closer. Two neighborhoods left.

"If you have any troubles today-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Call you. Seriously though, I'll be fine. I'm just a little nervous. Once I'm with Sam and Tucker it won't be so bad."

One neighborhood left.

"If you insist." He relented, focusing back on the road.

I shifted my backpack for the millionth time, feeling as though mere seconds had passed when suddenly the large, looming institution of Casper High towered in the distance. I swallowed thickly. Vlad pulled into the parking lot and turned the purring engine off, signaling that it was time to get out. The silent parking lot was kind of creepy, like a calm-before-the-storm kind of creepy. I didn't really know what to expect from my fellow classmates. Did they all still think I ran away? How long would it take for the truth to get out? Would anybody even care?

"Daniel? Are you coming?"

I jumped, suddenly realizing that Vlad was several steps ahead of me. I hoisted my backpack on my shoulder and ambled after him.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming..."

The inside of the school was just as silent as the outside, oddly enough. Vlad and I had no trouble making our way down the cold halls to the principal's room, passing lockers and water fountains, but no stray students. Not that I was complaining. The last thing I needed was somebody to catch me with Vlad Masters. So, naturally, after arriving at the office doors and stepping inside, a serious problem blew up in my face. Both the secretary and Kwan immediately halted their conversation and jumped at our sudden entrance, their eyes widening at the sight of who was in front of them. And no, I'm not talking about the sudden reappearance of a traumatized, abused, and previously missing student.

"Mr. Masters!"

Kwan was gaping at us like a fish out of water, eyes running back and forth between me and Vlad. Then the secretary noticed me.

"And Danny!"

"Hi Mrs. Hegar." I replied, voice deadpanned.

She fumbled with some paper work, looking frazzled and a little awkward. I noticed she seemed to have particular trouble looking at me. Kwan, thank god, was still silent.

"You both are here for the nine o'clock appointment, I presume?"

"Of course." Vlad replied, but I don't think she caught the underlying sarcasm.

"I'll alert Principal Ishiyama." Mrs. Hegar motioned to the door on her right, quickly typing something on the computer. I caught her eye when she glanced up at me, and it was chalk full of pity. Kwan was still giving me a bewildered look, eyes constantly drawing back to the billionaire beside me, specifically his hand placed so paternally on my back. This was gonna be a long day.

Vlad briskly helped himself into the Principal's office because he's a presumptuous jerk. I followed after him though, trying not to think of the rumors Kwan was going to spread and feeling significantly smaller once he shut the office door.

"Danny, Mr. Masters. Thank you for coming to see me today." Mrs. Ishiyama started off politely, voice thick with empathy and complete with a small, genuine smile. "Please, take a seat."

Vlad and I got comfortable, cause this was probably gonna take a while. Mrs. Ishiyama came around her desk, bringing her chair with her so we could talk more comfortably or something, I guess. Vlad scooted his chair back slightly to make room for her. I squirmed in my seat. This meeting already felt awkward, but maybe that was just me.

"So," Mrs. Ishiyama turned to me, "How are you doing, Danny?"

"Awesome."

She smiled patiently, kind of like Mrs. Parisi. It was clear my principal actually had a desire to work with difficult teenagers like me, which made me feel a little better, in all honestly. I tried not to slump so much in my seat.

"You're living with Mr. Master's now, correct?" She looked at him for confirmation, getting right to business.

"I am his legal guardian now, yes." He nodded, a glint in his eyes that I responded to with a dry stare, though Ishiyama didn't see it. He still loved saying that way too much, in my opinion.

She nodded, standing up and walking over to her desk.

"Jazz sent me the case file of your situation," she glanced up at me, "And I've already emailed all of your teachers to let them know what's going on. All of your absences have been excused and you have an extra two weeks to complete any homework assigned while you were absent."

Absent. Funny.

"Your teachers are also under a strict confidentiality code," she looked me in the eye this time, a type of reassurance in her voice that I understood when she finished her sentence, "By law, they are not allowed to discuss your situation with anyone unless you give them explicit, written permission. There's no reason why your classmates need to know about your personal life."

I smiled wanly, appreciating her attempt but knowing it'd get out anyways. Seriously, this was high school.

"Thanks." I said quietly, still grateful for her effort.

Ishiyama nodded with a small smile, turning to my new "guardian".

"Do you know how long you will have custody of Danny?"

"However long the courts decide. The hearing is scheduled to be held at the end of this month."

"So soon?" Her eyebrows raised in slight surprise, "How fortunate."

"Fortunate indeed."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Good fortune my ass. However, I most certainly wasn't complaining, so I kept my mouth shut.

"Well, as his temporary guardian, all of his emergency contact information has been transferred to you, seeing as his mother is out of the country. In addition, you will be the person teachers or I may contact if any troubles arise, but I don't think that will be a problem."

"Of course."

"I ask that you keep me up-to-date with any legal proceedings, or when things in this situation change." she looked between Vlad and I, holding both of our attention. Until she looked at me specifically, at least.

"I know this is a difficult time for you, Danny, and I'm sure some teachers will be a little lenient in light of your situation, but please keep in mind they are not required to be 'extra nice'. You still need to work hard and keep your grades up."

Ha. What grades?

"However, if you ever need to talk, you can always visit the school counselor. Jazz specifically asked that you consider this option."

"Thanks Principal Ishiyama." I forced a smile, internally vowing to never see the school counselor, "But I'll be fine."

She smiled in satisfaction, standing straight with the air of bringing this meeting to a close. My heart started to beat a little faster.

"Well, I think that's all we really need to cover today." she smiled. Vlad took the cue and stood up. I reluctantly followed. "I'll keep you posted if anything changes. Thank you so much for meeting with me today."

She shook Vlad's hand and he replied in thanks as well. I stood off to the side, my backpack feeling heavier and heavier with each passing second.

"It's still first period," Mrs. Ishiyama glanced at her watch, "Danny, do you need me to walk you to your-"

"I'll be fine, Principal Ishiyama." I tried not to sound too deadpanned. Seriously, how old did she think I was? I caught Vlad's miniscule smirk and restrained myself from punching him in the arm.

"Very well then," she nodded, returning to her desk, "You know where my office is if you have any trouble. Have a good day!"

At that peppy farewell, we both exited the office. Mrs. Hegar bid us goodbye as well, but I ignored her. Vlad gently closed the office door behind him, and once again we were alone in the silent hallways.

"That wasn't so bad, Daniel." He teased.

"I wasn't worried about _that_," I jerked a thumb to the office door, "I'm more concerned about going to class."

"Would you like me to walk you to your classroom then?" he jeered.

This time I did punch him in the arm.

"Bye Vlad." I said flatly, turning around and marching down the hall. I got about three steps before he called my name, no mockery in his tone.

"What?" I turned around, shoving my hands in my pockets and putting on the apathetic stare he could see right through.

He smiled gently this time.

"Everything will work out okay, little badger."

I didn't reply at first, raising an eyebrow cause I still wasn't sure how to respond to nice-Vlad. In the end I just shrugged, exhaling a predictable,

"Whatever you say, fruitloop."

Vlad rolled his eyes, though the smile didn't quite leave his face.

"I'll pick you up from school at three. Have fun and don't fall asleep in class."

"No promises!" I called back, already spinning around and ambling down the hall.

I listened hard to Vlad's retreating foot steps though, each layer of bravado flaking away with every quiet thump. Soon I was all alone, violently pushing away the squeaking wish that Vlad was still here. The walk to Lancer's class seemed ridiculously shorter than usual, and way before I was ready his door was in front of me, complete with Shakespeare cut outs taped to the glass.

I stood there for a moment and decided I needed to go to the bathroom. And that I needed a drink of water. And that it would probably be a good idea to make sure I had all my books. You know, cause I might have missed something the first hundred times that I checked. Finally, there was no putting it off any longer. I stood in front of his looming door and sighed, resigning myself to my fate and knocking quietly before opening it.

"...and this symbolizes Macbeth's need for-"

He fell silent when I peaked in, 22 pairs of eyes falling on me at once. My classmates who weren't paying a bit of attention to the lecture instantly paid attention to the newest distraction, meaning me. The majority of them had matching expressions of confusion and surprise. It was only Sam and Tucker's grinning faces from the back of the class that made a small smile slip onto my face.

"Mr. Fenton," Lancer suddenly spoke up, finally breaking the silence with an uncharacteristicly empathetic smile on his face. "Nice to see you back. Please take your seat. You're just in time for Act I of Macbeth."

"Yipee." I mumbled, slipping all the way in and closing the door behind me.

Students gazed at me with open curiosity, surprise still evident on some faces. As far as they knew, I was suppose to be some hooligan, homeless runaway. None of them were listening to Lancer as he began his lecture. I quickly shuffled to my usual seat behind Sam and Tucker, trying not to let the stupid stares get to me. Seriously, didn't they have anything better to pay attention to?

"Hey guys." I mumbled, putting my bag on the floor and glaring at the idiots still staring at me until they looked away. Unfortunately I couldn't put a stop to the whispers flying around the room. Kwan was in this class, so it wasn't hard to imagine the topic of their gossip.

"Hey Danny." Tucker grinned. Sam twisted around in her seat to smile at me. "Vlad been treating you okay?"

"As good as that fruitloop can." I smirked, ungodly thankful that I had my best friends in most of my classes.

Sam patted me on the arm furtively, glaring when Tucker smirked at us. Other students in the class continued to glance at me, but I did my best to ignore them and focus on the lesson. I could already tell this was going to be a long day.

-XxX

Shockingly enough, I wasn't wrong.

Lancer's class took forever. Between the not-so-furitve glances of other students and the boring lecture, I barely knew what to do with myself. Sam and Tucker helped the best they could, and really, they did a lot. They made class bearable, and I managed to make it through all fifty minutes without pulling my hair out.

But then it was time to change classes.

Lancer looked like he wanted to say something to me before I left, but I made sure to duck my head and scurry out as fast as I could. I didn't wanna hear him apologize or offer condolences or something stupid like that. Sam and Tucker did their best to keep an eye out for nosy students, shuffling me to my locker like I was some high profile criminal.

Maybe I should clarify why I'm going through all this hooplah, though. After all, in a school of over one thousand no one is going to care if some kid's dad is abusive. No, see the thing that everyone cares about is who I happen to be living with. After all, when you throw Vlad Masters into the equation, suddenly everyone and their mother cares about your personal life. It was clear that Kwan catching sight of me with Vlad this morning had already swept the school.

"What are you lookin at?" Sam barked to some freshman. The shorter boy squeaked and bowed his head, scurrying down the hall.

"Man, I didn't think people would care this much about your personal life, dude." Tucker breathed, shaking his head.

"It's all cause he's living with a 'celebrity' Tucker. People aren't that nice."

Sam looked at all the students with an expression of disgust, mirroring what I felt on the inside. Quickly, I grabbed the books I needed from my locker and shoved myself down the hall, Sam and Tucker keeping pace.

"Lets meet by the trees at lunch." I said, spinning around when we came to a fork in the hall to go our separate ways.

"Deal." they said at the same time, unhappy expressions on their faces.

"Good luck, dude." Tucker frowned.

"I'll be fine." I smiled weakly, "It's just a bunch of high schoolers. I've handled worse."

"I dunno about that." Sam muttered, turning down the hall.

I watched my friends leave, feeling alone again but forcing it away. My class was only a few doors away, so with relative easy I managed to squeeze my way down the hall and into the room. Social studies was the only class I didn't have my friends with, leaving me to face my fellow students without Sam's deflecting glares and Tucker's distracting humor. Awesome.

As quietly as I could, I picked my way to the most inconspicuous seat available and sat down. Some of the students were still staring, whispering to their friends and glancing at me. I really wanted to just disappear, but I tried not to focus too much on that. If I did I really _would _end up turning invisible. Instead I waited on pins and needles for class to start, hoping against hope that no one would-

"Hey Danny, is it true you're living with _Vlad Masters_?"

I glared at Star, who suddenly wasn't so pretty to me anymore. She was leaning out of her chair, Paulina watching me with a smirk on her face from the desk behind her satellite. I instantly bristled because I knew _exactly _what kind of smirk that was.

"Kwan saw me with him in the office this morning. _How _does that mean I'm living with him?"

"But you were with him?" She started getting excited, looking at Paulina who was now grinning like she'd just spotted a new, juicy steak. It was an incredibly unattractive smile.

"He's a _billionaire_, Danny." She stated the obvious in that sultry, accented voice she's got, "How did you know someone like him?"

"He's a friend of my parents." I replied shortly, wishing they'd take a hint and stop talking to me.

"Why were you with him though? I thought you ran aw-"

"I didn't run away!" I suddenly snapped, instantly wishing I hadn't said that.

Paulina and Star blinked, clearly surprised by my hostility. I looked away and glared at the front of the room, furious at my slip up. Way to feed the rumors, Fenton. Paulina and Star glanced at each other, shameless curiosity clear as day on their faces. The hispanic girl leaned over her desk with a hungry expression.

"What do you mean-"

"Quiet down class, quiet down!" Mr. Coleman suddenly came into the room, saving me from any further questioning. He set a packet of papers on his desk and stared at us until the room was quiet, his eyes surveying everyone in the class. Unsurprisingly, they paused when they reached me.

"Everyone turn to chapter thirteen in your textbooks," He called out, slowly taking his eyes off me and turning to the board, "Today we begin covering the Spanish Inquisition!"

Most of my classes went like that. I'd wander in, find a seat, try to deflect questions, get stared at by the teacher, and then zone out for the rest of the period. Granted, after social studies I at least had Sam and Tucker to help distract me, but other than that my classes mostly sucked. By the time lunch rolled around the rumors circulating about me, Vlad, and my mysterious not-a-runaway absence had mutated into something no one could recognize. In short, a bunch of ridiculous nonsense.

Sam, Tucker and I swiftly got our excuse for food from the lunch line and made our way outside. The warm weather was inviting enough to actually deflect some of the stares I was _still _getting, allowing me to push my problems away for the twenty minutes of freedom I had. Cracking jokes and laughing together, we all strolled to the tree we'd mentioned this morning and got comfortable, relaxing for the first time all day.

"Man, it's hard to believe we still have three more classes after this!" Tucker pointed out, stuffing his face.

"Ugh, thanks for reminding me."

"At least you've got science to look forward too," Sam shrugged, biting into a tofu sandwich.

"What do you guys wanna do after school? Wanna hit up the nasty burger?" Tucker asked, licking his fingers already.

"Uh...Vlad said he's picking me up at three." I winced, suddenly realizing how disastrous that could be. "On second thought, I'm gonna text him and tell him not to. I don't wanna feed the stupid rumor mill..."

Sam and Tucker rose an eyebrow when I pulled out my phone and started punching in the message. It took a second before I finally noticed their silence.

"...What?"

"You're texting _Vlad_?" Tucker snickered.

"Uh...well I do live with the guy."

"So? I live with my Grandma, but I don't text her at school." A smirk stared up on Sam's face.

"I'm just telling him not to pick me up. Knowing that fruitloop he'd show up in a limo just to piss me off, or worse, the lamborgini."

"He has a _lamborgini?_" Tucker gaped. Sam and I gave him a look.

"Duh. Of course he does," I scoffed.

"It's still weird that you're texting him." Sam replied lightly.

"Tell me about it." I snorted.

Vlad replied with a generic response, telling me to text him whenever I was done hanging with my friends so he could pick me up. I don't know why I couldn't just fly home, but he was particularly insistent on driving me. Probably more of his 'New Dad' crap, the fruitloop.

After lunch, absolutely nothing exciting happened. It was kinda what I didn't expect, cause this morning I was convinced me coming to school was somehow going to end in catastrophe. Other than the rumors though, it was pretty boring. I don't know if my paranoia is from my recently close proximity to Vlad or cause of my ghost fighting history, but either way I did not expect the day to be so...normal. Okay, I guess normal is a bit of a stretch, but I'm mainly talking about the lack of ghost activity, which I suspect that has something to do with Vlad.

After a lifetime of waiting for the final bell to ring, Sam, Tucker and I met up at my locker as usual and proceeded to walk to the Nasty Burger, as usual. It was kinda unnerving, but I guess there goes my paranoia again.

"You okay Danny? You're really tense." Sam asked from behind me, hooking her thumbs in her spider bag as we made our way down the sidewalk. I shrugged.

"Should I not be?" I mumbled, a little rudely. After all, I was living with my arch enemy and my abusive father was somewhere in Amity Park. I couldn't get the horrifying scenario out of my head of walking around a corner and seeing him stomp toward me. See? Paranoia.

Sam was quiet for a moment, but then came up and placed a hand on my back that I was very aware of.

"Sorry," She said sincerely, "Standard question."

Well crap, now I felt guilty.

"No, Sam, don't apologize." I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "It's not your fault. I'm just...overly paranoid."

Tucker snorted.

"Got that right."

I shoved him, a smile creeping on my face. Tucker smirked back, lightly pushing my arm. Sam intervened before our playful shoving turned into an all out bro-fight, smacking us in the back of the head with a sharp hand.

"Ow, Sam!" I laughed, grinning back at her before Tuck and I shared a glance. It was nice hanging out with my friends during hard times like these. I just needed to relax and remember to appreciate it, is all.

A short walk later had us crossing the threshold of the Nasty Burger and heading to our usual table. Thankfully, it wasn't too crowded yet, but all three of us knew that wouldn't last. Despite this looming fact, my friends and I enjoyed the A-lister free space while we had it, celebrating the only way we could.

"I'll take three quarter-pounder Nasty burgers, two sides of fries, a milkshake aaaaaaand go ahead and throw on an original Nasty burger with that."

"Jeez Tucker, are you trying to clog your arteries before you hit twenty? One tofu sandwich, please."

"Sam, you can't lecture me when you order things like tofu sandwhiches."

"One Nasty meal for me." I rolled my eyes as Sam and Tucker started their obligatory bickering, shrugging helplessly at the cashier when he raised a perplexed eyebrow.

Our food was served a short while later, but by now the place was starting to fill up so we had to pile our order on one tray. I carried the precariously perched meals back to our table, laughing with my friends like it was any other day. Tucker regaled us with exaggerated stories about all the girls he didn't actually make out with, Sam shot him disgusted stares as food tumbled from his mouth, and I mostly spent my time laughing at them. I couldn't help but glance at my phone on the table every once in a while, though, taking note of the time. Usually we just hang out in here until a ghost attacks, which never takes very long. However, the lack of ghosts was something new to all of us, which naturally put us on edge a little bit when a half hour passed and we were still enjoying our valuable time together.

"Dude, does Vlad have something to do with the no ghosts thing?" Tucker asked quietly.

"Probably." I muttered, sipping on my cola, "I wish he would have told me first if he _does _have a hand in this. I'm not sure if I should be on guard or if I can relax..."

"Me too man. I keep waiting for something green and glowing to swoop down, but nothings happened so far."

"Guys, I think this is a sign that there's something seriously wrong with us." Sam said in a deadpanned voice, making me laugh.

"Yeah, no kidding. What kind of teenagers can't enjoy a burger meal without getting paranoid about no ghosts attacking." I smirked.

"The kinds of teenagers who fight those ghosts on a regular basis." Tucker replied through thick bite of hamburger.

"Tucker, will you _please_ chew your food before you talk?"

"What?" he asked, turning to Sam and dropping bits of meat into his lap. She looked slightly sick.

"Nevermind."

Tucker caught my eye and grinned.

Unfortunately, our valuable time did come to an end soon after that, but not because of a ghost. No, instead of a nice ghost to fight, we got an arrogant jock. Dash and his cronies marched through the glass doors like they owned the place, the blonde in particular looking like he was on a mission. I knew that mission could be nothing good when his eyes zoned in on me and a smirk curled his lips.

"Uh oh..." I mumbled.

Dash nodded to his gorilla friends to go get a table and order food or something. Only Kwan followed him as he marched toward our table. Sam and Tucker turned around to see what was coming and rolled their eyes. Well, Sam did. Tucker started looking nervous. Dash marched right up to our table not two seconds later and slammed his hands down.

"Well if it isn't Harry, Curly, and Moe." He grinned, like making T.V. references to shows our parents watched was cool. "Didn't see you around school today, Fentina."

"That's because I was successfully avoiding you."

Dash scowled at my sarcasm, standing straight and glaring at me.

"Don't get smart with me, Fen-tonail, unless you want me to glue your face to this table with my fist." His glare then dropped into a sneer, throwing his arm around Kwan's shoulder, "Now, my buddy Kwan here says he saw you buddying it up with Vlad Master's this morning. Like, the _billionaire _Vlad Masters. So what I wanna know is what business does a scrawny nobody like you have associating with a rich somebody like him?"

"He's just a friend of my parents." I said through gritted teeth. Sam and Tucker glanced between Dash and I, worry on their faces.

"Oh really? That's hard to believe." He snorted. "Don't you, like, live under a bridge or something?"

"Good comeback, Dash. I actually live in the house with the giant, screaming neon sign above it that says 'Fenton Works'." At least I used to.

Dash frowned for a second time, which was his cue to grab the neck of my shirt and yank me into his personal bubble.

"I thought I said don't get smart with me." He glared, his primitive brain beginning to tell him it was time for an obligatory wailing. It's always my mouth that gets me in situations like these, I swear...

Unfortunately for him, I _really _wasn't in the mood for him to pick apart my nonexistent home life and make jabs about my family, whoever they were. From the corner of my eye I saw Tucker and Sam exchange a nervous glance at the fact that I had yet to back down from the bully, but mostly I was glaring at the moron in front of me.

"You have no idea what you're talking about Dash, so I suggest you drop the subject and pick on somebody else because I am beyond not in the mood today."

Dash blinked, shocked into silence at my brash response. Kwan whistled lowly, shaking his head with a smirk like I was in some deep shit or something.

"What did you say, you little runt?" I saw a vein start to twitch in Dash's forehead, obviously not a fan of being talked back to in front of his friends.

"Did I stutter? I said _leave. Me. Alone_."

Dash didn't hesitate to pull back a fist and slam it into my face.

"Hey!" Tucker and Sam jumped up, attracting some attention in the dining room, like all of Dash's other friends.

I shook the hit off because seriously, I've had way worse, and spit the small dribble of blood out thanks to a cut inside my cheek. Dash's glare deepened when I stared apathetically back, my lack of sniveling and crying clearly pissing him off. I don't know why I was egging him on. Absolutely nothing good could come out of this, but...I wasn't about to sit here and be bullied by someone like Dash...not when my own father...

"Hey! You two!" A deep, irritated voice came from the register.

Dash, Kwan, Sam, Tucker and I all spun our heads to the voice, seeing an annoyed manager gesturing to the door.

"Take it outside, will ya?"

And that was the extent of the adult help at the Nasty Burger. Dash smirked vindictively, revenge flashing in his eyes as he glanced at me.

"Sure thing, Mister." he called, grabbing me by the scruff of my neck and forcing me out the door.

A little bubble of nervousness started to pick up when he nodded to his other jock friends and four more large guys in school jackets followed us out. On second thought, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to stand up for myself...

"Danny!"

I glanced back to see Sam and Tucker rushing after me with wide eyes before Dash shoved me out the door and proceeded to drag me to the dumpster.

"Oh come on, does it have to be the dumpster?" I whined.

"Don't think so, Fenturd. You're not getting off that easily."

The bad feeling in my stomach grew when he shoved me forward, nearly pushing me to the ground. We were behind the Nasty Burger, all seven of us. That's one defenseless loser and six jocks for anyone counting. The other cronies started making a ring around me, immediately putting me on edge. I spotted Sam and Tucker hovering fearfully at the corner of the building, clearly unsure with what to do.

"Look at that, he thinks he's gonna defend himself!" Dash laughed, harking loudly and pointing to the unconscious battle stance that I was in. This was bad. I couldn't actually fight these idiots. I could _kill _them.

"Hey, this that Fenton loser you were tellin us about, Dash?" some nameless jacket guffawed.

"Yeah, this is him. The little runt thinks he's all high and mighty because he knows a billionaire. Tch. He's probably just getting charity money from Masters or something."

I grit my teeth furiously because in a way, that wasn't far from the truth...

"Oooo I think you made him mad! Look at him!" Another one pointed and laughed.

The cornered feeling was starting to make me panic, fists clenching and unclenching. They were circling me like I was some animal, closing me in the small confined space with leering grins and an intention for pain. It's like I was back in the living room and Dad was bearing down on me with that furious glare again, and I _still _couldn't fight back because they were only human. Just stupid, breakable, humans.

"I think we should teach him a lesson about knowing his place." Baxter grinned, cracking his knuckles and approaching.

I tensed, automatically backing up right into another jock who quickly grabbed my arms and locked them behind me.

"H-hey! Let me go!" I yelled, the panic building. I glanced up at Sam to see her furiously dialing a number. Who was she-?

WHAM!

A fist dug itself into my face as jeering laughs echoed around me.

"Hey! I'm talkin to you, Fentina!"

I glared at him, not really meaning to, just as an automatic response. Dash made a face and pulled his fist back, slamming it into my nose and cause blood to erupt.

"Ooooo, you got him good!"

"Look at all that blood!"

"Ha ha, I think his nose is broken!"

God, this was so sick. I don't know what was more pathetic, the fact that they were beating up a defenseless classmate or the fact that I wasn't actually defenseless, I was just too afraid to fight back. Unlike them, I could actually seriously harm-

BAM!

Another fist smashed into my face, bruising my jaw. More jeering, more laugher.

"Not so tough now, are ya Fenton?" Dash laughed, grabbing my hair, forcing my head up, and plowing another fist in my face. I spat out blood, trying to ignore the ache and waiting for them to get tired of beating me up. That's all I ever did, wasn't it? Wait and hope it would stop...

"Hey, who wants to see Fenton try and defend himself? Go on, dude, let him go."

The one locking my arms behind me shoved me forward with a guffaw, predictably knocking me to the ground because he's super creative. Dash bent down and grabbed the neck of my shirt, rearing a fist back and punching me into the pavement. Okay, I would definitely like them to stop now. He did it again, only this time decorating the other side of my face. Dash grabbed my arm and forced me to my feet, dragging me close and getting right in my face again.

"Huh. You don't put up much of a fight, Fen-toenail! I thought you were gonna defend yourself?"

"Yeah, well, you're not worth it." I grinned, feeling blood bubble over my lips. See? It's my mouth that always gets me in trouble.

Dash glared, that vein twitching again. I regretted my comment when he buried his fist in my gut, making me double over. Ow... Yeah, I-I was definitely done. This was bad. The blonde forced me up again, twisting his fist in the neck of my shirt.

"You're gonna regret mouthing off to me, Fenton! No one makes a fool out of Dash Baxter!" He raised his fist again and I winced, closing my eyes and expecting the worst. I felt Dash move for the hit, but a muffled thumping sound came three inches from my face and the punch never landed. Several loud gasps filled the air, making me open my eyes curiously, and when I did I felt my stomach plummet.

Vlad had blocked the punch aimed for my bloodied face, and was now towering over Dash with a furious glare.


End file.
